Marisawright

1 hour ago, Movingdownunder1 said:

 I’m just after some advice for the steps to get my skills assessed? Is it worth trying to start the ball rolling before we get out to Australia with the hope to eventually get my licence? 

What you'll need to do, depends on what state you'll be living in.  The bad news is that it's a bit of a long haul. Chances are you will have to work for about 12 months as an assistant to a licensed electrician before you can go out on your own.

https://www.tradesrecognitionaustralia.gov.au/electrician-general-and-special-class

https://pathwaytoaus.com/blog/how-to-work-as-an-electrician-in-australia/

58 minutes ago, TheBs said:

so all being well we won’t be in the UK for the whole duration of the treatment, How easy is it to continue orthodontic care in Aus? I’m guessing pretty straight forward? 
 

Dental work in Australia isn't covered by Medicare.  It is all private, so you will have to pay for it.  You can get private health insurance, but there is usually a waiting period (six months or more) before you can claim for more expensive procedures like orthodontics.   When you first join a health fund, the benefit for orthodontics is often fairly low and it improves the longer you're a member. Not much use to you, I know, since you'll be arriving brand new. 

This article is basically an ad for a cheaper alternative to braces, but it lays out the costs for various kinds of orthodontics fairly well.

https://www.ezsmile.com.au/cost-of-braces-australia/

3 hours ago, Toots said:

If they are living on the relative/sponsor's disability pension surely it would be less expensive for the disabled person to get help from here in Australia. 

I agree.  I'm guessing the real motive is not for the sponsor's benefit but for the family. They think they have a chance of a better life in Australia if they can get the visa.  However as Quoll points out, the waiting time for the visa is at least 7 years, and that's a long time to survive without being able to work, and having to pay school fees.   

Also there's always the chance that the visa will be rejected.

12 hours ago, Vengatessh said:

Hi All,

Currently  I have Subclass 600 Business Visitor visa which I got it in September 2022 and valid till September 2024....

I'm an Indian and I wanted to check if there is any feasibility to apply for PR or any other means by which I can convert this visitor visa into permanent visa w

You cannot convert the 600 visa into anything.  It allows you to come to Australia and speak to employers, and see if anyone is willing to offer you a job and sponsor you. 

However, employers can only sponsor you if you have the right qualifications and experience, which are specified by the Australian government.  So you need to speak to a MARA registered migration agent to find out whether your qualifications and experience meet the government's requirements first. 

2 hours ago, kikice said:

Thank you for your reply. Sorry, what do you mean " sometimes there is no charge"?

It depends which state you are in.

1 hour ago, Jehwal said:

Just had a weekend in Hobart and could easily live there. Originally from Wirral but live in Melbourne and i have always felt overwhelmed in Melb just so big, its getting worse it was 3mil pop when we came now approaching 6 mil. 
Hobart reminded me of home, nothing was rushed , lots of lovely pubs, bars, restaurants etc. 
 

Now all you have to do is get a job there...which wouldn't be hard to do from Melbourne, since it's only a quick plane hop.

26 minutes ago, Majhar said:

Now, we are faced with uncertainty regarding the pending application, especially concerning my younger brother who is 22 years old.

Your brother is not a parent, therefore he can't get the 143 visa on his own merits.  It is a parent visa.  Your father was the applicant and as he is deceased, the application cannot proceed.  If you don't tell Immigration that he has died, you will be committing fraud. 

To be honest, I'm not even sure if his 173 is still valid if the main visa holder is not living. I suggest contacting a MARA registered agent urgently to find out what his status is.

31 minutes ago, Geraldineinoz said:

In regards to my husband's income stream, will the whole amount we draw each month be taxed or only the amount left after the tax free amount is deducted?

I understand that the UK tax free amount is 12,750 pounds per year. I am trying to get my head around all of this, any advice will be most helpful. Thank you in advance.

I'm not sure I understand the question.  

The income stream will be taxed as part of your total income, whatever that is.  You get a tax free threshold of GBP 12,750 per year and then you'll be taxed on the rest of your income, whatever that is.

11 minutes ago, lilliatommy8 said:

Hi good morning I’ve just been offered a sponsorship visa for rendering in Brisbane. I’m trying to find out if the vid will extend to my partner and my two children 

Yes, you'll include your partner and children on the visa as your dependents.  

Is it a 482 visa (which is just a temporary work contract for a few years), or a 186 visa (which is a permanent visa that lets you migrate to Australia)?   

A 482 visa can be a fantastic opportunity for an adventure for your family, and it is possible that you might be able to stay permanently after the contract ends -- but it's far from guaranteed, so make sure you understand all the in's and out's of the deal.  It can be a very expensive adventure if you don't plan carefully.

1 hour ago, BendigoBoy said:

Worlds apart from where I am in regional VIC: if anything, I think we've come out kinder from things these last few years.

Worth pointing out, that could just be the difference between city attitudes and country attitudes anywhere in the world.

8 hours ago, Mummyc said:

 don’t plan to do this as 143 should be granted or we will reapply for 870 please help 

When did you apply for the 143?  Do you have a queue date?

8 minutes ago, BrettyM said:

Hi Nemesis - she has a Latvian passport not British. When you say expensive?

I'm guessing your wife has "indefinite leave to remain" in the UK?  The thing is, "indefinite" does not mean indefinite.  If she leaves the UK for a continuous period of more than two years, she'll lose it.  So if Australia doesn't work out and you decide to return to the UK after a couple of years, you'll have to go through the whole process of getting a new UK spouse visa from scratch (and of course, that means meeting the financial/job requirements).  I assume you've done it once so you know how it works.

Your qualifications, experience etc are all irrelevant to the "last remaining family member" visa, because that is based entirely on your family relationship.  However I doubt the visa will suit you, as there is a very long waiting list (only a small quota is granted each year). Based on the current waiting list, if you applied today, you would get your visa in about 25 years' time. 

The Business Innovation Visa is currently closed to new applicants, pending a review. This thread is relevant, and @Steve Elliott (who posted on that thread) is probably your man to talk to about it.  

Your other option would be to apply for a skilled visa (189 or 190), but I have no idea whether you'd be eligible.  You'll need to research and act on that very quickly, though, because you're fast approaching the point where you'll be too old (45 is the cutoff age). 

Sadly it is a fact of life that Australia is no longer crying out for migrants. It's still easier to get into Australia than to some other first-world countries, but not by as much as you might think.

Even if you hadn't surrendered your SA licence, it wouldn't be possible to renew it because it's been more than 5 years.  I tihnk your only choice will be to transfer your UK licence, unfortunately.  

On 23/05/2024 at 10:57, kinks01 said:

any help with last remaining relative would be great if she is not around.

What questions do you have?  

I should add that you can also set up a Self-managed Super Fund (SMSF) which is a private superannuation fund that you run just for you (or you and your partner).  It's not something I'd recommend until you're 200% sure you're going to retire in Australia, because they're an absolute bear to wind up if you decide to leave (you can't be a trustee of a SMSF if you're living overseas). 

9 minutes ago, Cheery Thistle said:

Also can you set up an Aus super fund without having a job? Or is it all employer based? 

I can't help with the UK end but yes, you can set up an Aus super fund before you have a job.  In fact it's a good idea to do so, because you don't want to be stuck with your employer's choice of fund.  You want to do your own research and choose the fund you want, then you tell your employer which one to pay your super into. 

Note that there are 'retail funds' (set up by banks and investment companies) and there are "industry funds" (set up by trade unions for each industry, but open to anyone).  Generally, the retail funds have higher fees but they'll claim they have more expertise than the industry funds and therefore should perform better (which isn't necessarily true).  The industry funds claim their performance is just as good and they make a feature of keeping their fees low. 

https://www.ratecity.com.au/superannuation/articles/industry-vs-retail-super-funds

https://www.ato.gov.au/single-page-applications/yoursuper-comparison-tool

https://www.barefootinvestor.com/hostplus

24 minutes ago, SteveT said:

I'm about to put in an application for a 309/100 partner visa. Can anyone advise me on roughly how long it takes to get the temporary visa (309) 

Hard to say as (a) it changes all the time and (b) it depends where you're applying from.  The timeframes quoted on the Immi website include people from high-risk countries which take forever due to the security checks needed.   Applications from the UK are usually at the shortest end.  Not that long ago, they were taking only three months or so -- but that could have changed. 

Once you get the visa, you have about a year to activate it.

On 21/05/2024 at 22:41, JulieFitz said:

I appreciate this is an old thread however it would be appreciated if someone could answer the query above regarding the reciprocal health care agreement and the obtaining of prescribed medicine.  My husband has diabetes, controlled with tablets

It's confusing because holding the 870 visa doesn't give you the right to claim Medicare.   However as a UK resident visiting Australia, you are entitled to claim Medicare while you're here, under the reciprocal agreement. 

Strictly speaking, you're only supposed to get essential/urgent medical care, and you should go back to the UK for anything that isn't urgent.  However in practice, the definition of what's essential seems very broad, and people have even had hip replacements etc.    

2 hours ago, Pommiecate said:

Just looking for some reassurance I guess. Been here in Oz for almost 20 years, had a fab time, but wanted to come back since 2011 when my mum died.

We have sold house and all our stuff and suddenly I realise how many friend etc we have here and having huge what have we done moments.

My heart really does want to go home to be with dad while I still have him. I remember feeling like this when we came out here. 

I assume you've got your citizenship organised?  So you can always come back again.  As you say, you need to be with your dad while you still have him.  Who knows how long that will be -- I'm sure you don't want to think about that at the moment, but there will come a time when your dad's not there any more, and you'll be able to come back to Australia.  Maybe it won't be till your retirement, but since you've lived in Australia for more than 20 years, you'll have your superannuation and your Australian pension waiting for you. 

Plan your stay in the UK with that in mind.  Keep in touch with your Aussie friends on social media.  You have to be where you have to be.

1 hour ago, Bob Jones said:

You can get a new chromecast, download Send To My TV both to your phone and the chromecast from the playstore.  Download iPlayer apk to your phone, send it it to the TV, install it.  Then access iPlayer via the chromecast over something like NordVPN

 

This is my problem.  I've tried several VPNs and they all slow the signal down so much, we can't watch it.  

26 minutes ago, Ken said:

I sometimes wonder if I'm the only one to take a pay cut to move to Australia. But I guess that's City of London salaries for you.

Ausvisitor just said that she could be earning thousands more if she went back to the UK.  

AFAIK, corporate jobs are frequently lower-paid in Oz.

We've been using an old Chromecast on our not-very-smart smart TV and it's time to replace it. I'm looking at an Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, and something occurred to me.

I seem to recall that someone (was it you, @Lavers?) brought their Firestick from the UK and just used it on their Aussie TV without changing the region settings, and that meant they were able to continue watching all the British TV channels (which are usually blocked in Oz).  Am I right?  If so, what model was it?

I don't care if it blocks Australian channels as I can always watch the free-to-air channels on the TV channels instead of through the Stick.  Most of the shows I watch on there are British anyway!

Bear in mind that the population of the entire state of WA is only 2.5 million people, most of whom live in Perth.  That's the market you'll be working in. That's why all the big corporates (except the mining companies) have their offices in the Eastern states, where most Australians live.    

Housing is hard to find, however being "far out" probably isn't that big a deal in Perth.  Of course people complain about traffic jams, but with such a low population density compared to British cities, they're probably not anywhere near as bad as you're imagining!

1 hour ago, Home and Happy said:

I am happy for anyone who made it work for them. Once a person knows they want to get back home to the UK, once the seed is already planted, it's just a matter as to when they leave. 

The sad thing is that so many people stay on in Australia for years, focussing on the financial benefits of staying and thinking, "I'll go home when the time is right" or "I'll go home when I retire", only to find they can't afford to make the move in older age -- and then they're trapped in Australia for the rest of their born days. 

For that reason, I encourage anyone who's decided Australia isn't for them, to get on a plane home as soon as they can manage it, even if it does mean losing money. Staying only damages your mental health.   The sooner you get back, the sooner you can start building your life again.

I'm very lucky that I felt at home in Australia from the moment I landed, but then I was never very attached to my home country in the first place.