Bridgeman

12 hours ago, Kathss56 said:

It has gone to 15yrs now before you could claim a pension unless you work for 5yrs  I believe .? If you don’t work it’s 15 

 

Not necessarily:

https://www.yourlifechoices.com.au/news/new-age-pension-eligibility-rules

You can currently apply for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card when you have been in Australia for 2 years permanently and meet the income requirements.  They now want to change this to 4 years.   In  addition some doctors will bulk bill holders of the CSHC as ours does so we do not pay for doctor's visits.  Also in Queensland this card gives us access to the public dental system, so we do not have to pay for basic dental treatment.  States and utilities companies vary in what concessions you can access with this card. 

I would also like to know for a relative whom we are thinking of sponsoring.  There is no information on the immigration website about how long it takes if you are sponsored by a family member.  If anyone out there has recently received an invitation for 489 family sponsored it would be interesting to know how long you had to wait and how many points you had,  Thanks.

No problem.  Just to be clear you need to send the statement from Teachers Pension with the form and its the amount you paid yourself from your salary they are interested in, not any employer contributions.

I believe that was me who posted in relation to this.  You need to contact Teachers Pension and get a statement from them as to the actual pension contributions paid by yourself from your salary, then complete the form and send it off to the ATO who will then work out and let you know your tax free amount.

It depends on your local council and how often they hold ceremonies and how many are waiting.    I believe there are threads elsewhere on here where people have posted how long they were waiting.  We are in Queensland and over 60 so no test and got our citizenship approved after about 3 weeks, but then had to wait nearly 3 months for a ceremony.  We then applied for an Australian passport immediately and it took about 3 weeks to arrive.

On ‎24‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 21:17, Fisher1 said:

I have to admit I didn't even think of one way travel insurance. We had a one year multi trip policy in place and just assumed it would cover us for our trip out here!

 

 

Yes, it is not always obvious, but in the small print it often says that the insurance only covers trips which start and end in the UK.  It pays to check,  This may also be the case if you have travel insurance connected to a credit card.  It is best to check who the policy is underwritten by and what the terms and conditions are.  

20 hours ago, Catlady2014 said:

I looked there too - no one-way, only return.  

Maybe they no longer do it, it was a few years ago.

I did a quick search for Emigration Insurance.  You could maybe use this

https://www.travelsupermarket.com/en-gb/travel-insurance/one-way/

I also found these:

http://www.duinsure.com/travel_insurance/one_way_travel_insurance

http://www.globelink.co.uk/one-way-travel-insurance.html

https://www.truetraveller.com/one-way-travel-insurance.aspx

7 hours ago, Catlady2014 said:

That's what I thought too, but when you put the dates in they still want to know a return date!  Either that or when you put in your date of birth you find out they don't cater for anyone over a certain age, one of them only went back to 1962 - and one of them said "we only cater for active people going on adventures" or words to that effect, implying that at my age I'm far too old to be adventurous!  I'm going to try calling gowalkabout on Monday though as they're not open on weekends.  

We used the Post Office who offered a one way travel insurance.  Not sure if they still do,

18 hours ago, Kathss56 said:

Did your pension fund just provide the documentation for you upon your request . Thanks

Yes, I wrote to them explaining what I wanted and why and they responded (albeit after a long delay and a lot of chasing on my part).  However, one of my pension funds had been taken over several times and it proved a nightmare to get the information so gave up in the end as it was only small.

14 hours ago, Kathss56 said:

Hi. What evidence did you provide to them please.

Thanks !

I had to provide a document from my pension fund stating the exact amount of personal contributions paid in. 

Here's a link to the application form:

https://www.ato.gov.au/Forms/Determination-of-deductible-amount-for-UPP-of-a-foreign-pension-or-annuity/

22 hours ago, Wishfull said:

I understand that UK state pensions are able to benefit from an 8% per annum allowance against Australian tax under the Undeducted Purchase Price (UPP) of foreign pensions arrangement.

In addition to our UK state pensions, my husband and I each have UK occupational pensions. These were funded by ourselves and our employers. Our own contributions to these pensions were tax deductible at the time of contribution. Am I correct in thinking that these could not benefit from the UPP process and produce some allowance against Australian tax?

Would be very interested to hear from anyone who has experience of this.

Yes, you can claim an allowance for your private pensions under the UPP arrangements.  We have done this for our private pensions.  You will need to make a separate claim to the ATO for each pension, the form is available on the ATO website.  They will then tell you how much you can claim.   However, when we made the claim we had to get evidence from our employer or pension provider regarding the amount you yourself actually paid into the scheme.  I found this almost impossible for one of my pensions so gave up as it was only small, but my OH was able to get the information and now claims an allowance for both his private  pensions in addition to the state pension.

It is possible to get a tourist visa for 3, 6 or 12 months.  In addition you may be interested in the new5 year temporary parent visa which is being introduced in November

https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visi/temporary-sponsored-visa-parents/faq

There are permanent parent visas but the only real option would be a Contributory Parent Visa which costs around $55,000.

I will try and answer some of your questions as far as I know.

 a

It is more a case of whether you are ‘settled’ in Australia, rather than the length of time, although they do say usually about 2 years. Things like whether you have a permanent job, car , home etc

 b

The visa application charges are non refundable  (your estimate is correct).  In addition to the VAC there is an Assurance of Support, which is $10,000 for a single parent plus $4.000 for each additional applicant.  This is refundable after 10 years.

 c

You can find information regarding the income requirements to act as Assurer here

http://guides.dss.gov.au/guide-social-security-law/9/4/3/60

It does not necessarily have to be yourself, you and your wife can act as joint Assurers, or any permanent resident. Some companies also do this.

http://guides.dss.gov.au/guide-social-security-law/1/1/a/310

  d

The current processing time is around 3 years I believe, so by this time you may have your business up and running with a suitable income.  Most parents are able to visit during this time on a visitors visa.  The Contributory Parent visa 143 is an offshore visa, so no they will not be granted a bridging visa.  In order to apply onshore and stay in Australia one of your parents will need to be over 65 and apply for the Aged Contributory Parent visa 864, although this does have a shorter processing time (not sure what this is but you can probably find the information on DIBP website.

 e

Your parents would have to prove that your grandmother is financially dependent on them.  However, she will also have to pay a VAC and AOS.  More importantly she will have to pass the medical and if she fails your parents application will be refused.

Actually, they don't want us as it seems we cost Australia too much and even the high visa fees don't cover it.  There has been a suggestion to  largely increase the VAC.  Unfortunately the parent visas have a low processing priority hence the increase in waiting time. 

Yes, it is the most efficient and cost effective way I think.

We transferred the money to our daughter in Australia using HiFx and then she got her bank to issue a bank draft and submit to DIBP.  I think credit card might invoke fees.  This is the easiest way.  Also some people have had problems with using their credit card as their credit card companies have actually stopped the payment as it was an unusually large amount.  If you do decide to go the credit card route you need to make sure the amount is not beyond your credit limit and make sure you contact them first to warn them that such a large amount will be paid.

Yes, your parents would be able to get a bridging visa if they applied for the non contributory visa, but they would need to be over 65 to apply onshore.        I would have a look at Go Matilda's website.  They have some information on the the non contributory parent visas.  Or you could try contacting Alan Collett who has a fact sheet I believe.

Some private pension funds will only pay into a UK bank account, so you will need to ask them if they would be prepared to pay into an Australian account, you may have no choice.  With regard to the state pension, you do not necessarily have to have it paid into an Australian bank account.  We still get all our pension paid into our UK bank and bring over when we decide the exchange rate is right using HiFx so we have more control over it.  You will not have any control over the exchange rate if it is paid direct into an Australian bank account.

I thought I would post this as it might be useful for anyone who has elderly relatives at home in the UK and is looking for a way to help them out.  My sister-in-law who is an only child was looking for a way to help her 90 year old parents in the UK and spoke to various retailers and eventually Morrisons who announced that they now accept overseas credit cards for home deliveries.  She is now able to order products online for them, including groceries when they are not always able to get out themselves, if the weather is bad for example or if they are not well.  At the moment it is only a trial, and so they don't deliver everywhere yet.

5 hours ago, tajpal salwatura said:

Hello, wonder if anyone can help me get some info since I cannot find must on the web.. I just our visa (subclass 143) for me my wife since both our children living in Auz. I'm aware this will take 36 month to process. We too aware that there is a ten year waiting period to apply for subsidy for living. So, can anyone give me a hint how much is that amount at current level weekly?


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Basically the Australian Aged Pension is means tested and you have to pass the income and the assets test to qualify.  Also the rules have recently changed  if you have already claimed something from Centrelink you need to wait 15 years.

Two links posted by  Alan Collett a few pages back give more information.

https://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/services/centrelink/age-pension

https://www.humanservices.gov.au/corporate/budget/budget-2017-18/older-australians/enhanced-residency-requirements-pensioners

You could apply for a 600 visitor visa to spend up to 12 months  in Australia a bit nearer the time.  You would need to keep immigration informed so that you can go offshore when the visa is granted (a holiday to Bali or New Zealand etc would suffice.  If you have a look at the parent visa thread

there are some parents who are doing just that so you might get more information by asking some of them who have done this.

18 hours ago, Catlady2014 said:

After all the kerfuffle with my passport renewal: 

1. Last Friday my online photos were rejected, so I needed to do it the old fashioned way.

2. Got passport photos taken in Timpsons Saturday morning

3. Local Post Office said they don't deal with passports

4. The next Post Office said my photos were a millimetre "out" and might be rejected, but I took a chance anyway because I believed it would take 3 weeks to process.

5. Online info said it takes 3 weeks to get the passport back.

6. Received a text from Passport Office saying I would receive the passport by 21st June (cutting it fine as I move out on 22nd June).

7. Passport arrived today!

That was another week of unnecessary stressing that I could have done without, but hey! I got my new passport!  Woohoo.  

And finally, I've booked a small Movecube for the 21st June.  So that's another step further along the way.   

I am sure you are aware of this, but don't forget to complete the relevant form to let immigration know your new passport number as you visa, when granted will be linked to your passport.

Yes, there are normally 2 medicals with this visa, one before she is given a queue date for the visa and then another before visa grant.

1 hour ago, yamahamoto said:

This is what i see regarding bridging visa. It looks like you can get bridging visa if you are here when you apply for 143.

In Australia:
You will be granted a Bridging visa if you are the holder of a Contributory Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 173), the holder of a Tourist visa (subclass 676) or Visitor visa (subclass 600)  granted through ministerial intervention, or a member of the family unit of a Contributory Parent (Subclass 173) visa holder. In all other cases, you will not be granted a Bridging visa to stay in Australia.

Unfortunately not.  The 143 is an offshore visa.  Although you can physically be in Australia when you put in the application there is no bridging visa to allow you to stay.