Simonrbh

On 31/07/2021 at 16:10, Marisawright said:

@Peety,If you feel that strongly, don't delay.   Start doing your research now.   Don't think "I'll move back when I retire",  because you may find you can't afford it then.

The difficulty is that if you leave Australia before you're eligible to claim the Australian government pension, you will never be able to claim it.   So you either have to leave now and start building up your entitlement to the UK pension, or you'll be stuck in Australia until you're entitlement age--which the way things are going, could well be 70 years old. 

I would suggest finding out about paying NI contributions now, and maybe backpaying some missing years as well.

Also make sure you understand what the deal is with superannuation.  

Hi Marisawright, How do I find out more information about what the implications are of Super and Aussie State Pension if I return to the UK?

Regards, S.

This post is so pertinent, I never realised there were so many of us who felt like we do! My heart goes out to all of you that feel so disconnected and long to be back home. I can relate to it personally, as I am exactly the same. After 7 years I know QLD and Australia will never be where I want to spend the rest of my life, but my Australian partner is home and will never leave. I too, like many, feel the years have been wasted and wish I'd never made the move. Like so many of you, I too will be hit financially when I finally make the move to family, real friends, proper fish 'n' chips & mushy peas and real malt vinegar, great real ales in great real pubs! I yearn to be hiking in the Lake District. My 40 years+ mate in Perth sums it up.....'People say Australia it's better, it's not better.......... just different'!

I wish the very best outcomes for all those unsettled souls.

On 13/05/2019 at 08:04, shiveringpom said:

er sadly not  - we are waiting now almost 18 months to hear anything from brisbane city  - all very random it seems ! simple family of 4 from UK lol....x

Same here. Applied August '18 and not heard a thing. The only way I know I'm in the system is when I go into my IMMI account. I haven't even had a confirmation email of my application. To be honest it's taking so long I even forget I've applied!!! Appears to be just a money making scheme when you have to apply for an RRV to ensure you still have travel rights whilst waiting. Simple individual of 1 from the UK with a 4th generation aussie partner (and she got her UK citizenship with 4 months of applying) lol.............

On 28/02/2019 at 12:37, imthedave said:

Filling out my citizenship application (taking forever to enter in amount of travel since I was 18!!)

Random question. It asks do you give permission for anyone else to ask about the application on your behalf. My wife and I want to be able to ask about each others if needed so ticking yes.

It says 'describe your relationship'

Options that seem correct are:

"Spouse/Interdependent partner" or "Spouse/De Facto partner"

Clearly I am my wifes spouse and she is mine. What is the difference between the two options above though? There isn't an option that just says husband/wife.

I'm sure it's irrelevant which one I pick for this answer but I'm genuinely curious which one would be correct and why?

I phoned them about travel since 18 and told them that there was no way I could possibly remember all that as most of it was European travel and you don't get stamps in a UK passport for that travel. The person I spoke to checked with their superior and told me the last 10 years travel is all that is required. I'm reckoning 'Spouse/De Facto" would be the choice seeing that you're married.

On 19/02/2019 at 15:13, littlefoot said:

Hi all - quick question. I've recently become eligible to apply for citizenship and noticed I needed police checks from the UK. Do I have to attach them before I submit the application? Or can I attach them at a later date?

If I remember correctly your UK police check is only valid for a certain amount of time. This plus the fact that it never asked for one to be submitted when I completed my online application means I didn't submit one! If they as for further documentation then I'll get on when it's requested so it's current. I only applied in August '18 so will be waiting a while longer before I hear anything from them. I've had to get a Returning Resident Visa (RRV) to permit ongoing overseas travel whilst my application is in situ.

On 19/02/2019 at 15:26, kirsty160990 said:

Hi littlefoot, does your application tell you that you need to submit UK police check?

I'm due to submit my application soon and didn't know i would need to have a police check from the uk. I have been on PR since March 2017 and have only been out of Australia twice for 5 weeks each trip.

I have been following this forum for my partner - he submitted his citizenship April 2018 with application still waiting to be approved. He completed his test on 03/09/2018.

If I remember correctly your UK police check is only valid for a certain amount of time. This plus the fact that it never asked for one to be submitted when I completed my online application means I didn't submit one! If they as for further documentation then I'll get on when it's requested so it's current. I only applied in August '18 so will be waiting a while longer before I hear anything from them. I've had to get a Returning Resident Visa (RRV) to permit ongoing overseas travel whilst my application is in situ.

Brisbane based. Applied online in August 2018, still awaiting anything further than the initial receipt of application.

Travel rights expired on my Permanent Resident Visa over 8 months ago so last week I applied for a RRV (Returning Residents Visa) so I can travel overseas. I completed the process online and had to enter quite a lot of the details I'd been asked for as part of my citizenship application. Wouldn't you expect that those details should be automatically filled from the current citizenship application?!

Put in my payment details and in less that a minute I got the RRV granted online and email notification too! Shame it isn't so easy for the citizenship application and that they seem to have to double dip to let people continue with their lives whilst being on hold for up to 22 months!

3 hours ago, MetalToby said:

Hi all,

I've been in Australia now on a partner visa for just over a year. My wife is Australian so I am a permanent resident.

We are planning a trip back to the UK in October. Do I need to do anything with my visa for a 3 week trip to the UK? Or can I just come and go?

Thanks!

I'm exactly the same as you but DeFacto, not married. I assume you are on a 100/309 Partner Migration Visa? As VeryStormy says, you are okay to travel as long as you are still within the 5 years travel rights of your visa. If you are outside of that then you will require a RRV (Returning Resident Visa) to re-validate the travel portion of your visa. I would also check on what I've been told by friends that got an RRV and that is:- If you do travel outside of Oz after your travel rights have expired, and you get an RRV, then the timeframe for applying for citizenship can possible be reset to when your RRV is issued. I'm sure someone more knowledgable on here can verify as whether this is correct.

On 30/09/2017 at 12:36, Scousers1 said:

She has always said she would not go because she has seen what it has done to me. Im not expecting her to change her mind to be honest but at least she is wanting to go for a holiday. 

Not sure where this leaves our future though as i am sure i cannot be here too much longer. My parents are here and elderly but once they are no longer around i have no wish to be here. I have stopped functioning a few years ago, dont really see many people anymore, dont look after the house as i once did. Only work a couple of days to cover the bills. 

Try to catch up with people but just cannot be bothered anymore. But looking forward to going home in 3 weeks.

Hi Scousers1,

Your posts sound so familiar, after just returning to Brisbane from Perth for a short 10 day visit. I've still not settled after 4 yrs and part of the reason for the Perth trip was to catch up with pommie friends and try and answer some of my nagging doubts. One of them has the same dilemma as you, with their eldest child having settled with his own place, an aussie partner and possibly looking at starting a family in the next few years. Until recently she was keen to head back to Wigan/Warrington area and hubby applied (internally) and took up an job in Ellesmere Port last year. So now the family are split and indecision and doubt are coming into the equation due to the eldest child having his life mapped out in Perth! Their reasons to want to head back were the same as so many others who have contributed to this post and are mine too, except my aussie partner has no wishes to return to the UK. I'm interested to hear how your trip back to the Wirral went and and update from your post in Sept 2017.

Best Wishes

Simon.

12 minutes ago, Nemesis said:

Your PR does not expire. It is permanent residency.

Your travel rights connected to PR expire 5 years after it was granted, so what date did you enter on the citizenship application as date of grant? Add 5 years and thats when your travel rights expire. 

Hi Nemesis,

Yes, I meant my travel rights, apologies. Think my 100/309 visa was granted Sept ‘13 and I entered  Oz May ‘14.  Looks like I may need to apply for a RRV if I want an overseas trip anytime soon!

On 19/06/2018 at 12:33, shiveringpom said:

intrigued to know if anyone else waiting for Brisbane city application to get going? we applied early January - all in system but no email as yet for test dates...now 6 months in....wondering if anyone else waiting or any tips on how long wait is with Brisbane .... just feel like spent years waiting for visas and tests and doing applications ..... lol. Will now need to get RRV sorted as PR 'expires' 1/8/18  incase of any overseas trips etc ......

 Hi shiveringpom

I submitted my application online today (Sunday 19/08/18). I'm Brisbane based too. I'm unsure when my PR expires, I suppose i can check on VEVO?

1. Date applied: 19/08/2018
2. City/Council area: Brisbane City Council 
3. Online / Paper:  Online
4. Date received the acknowledgement email: 19/08/2018
5. Date of the Citizenship Test:  TBC 
6. Approval online:  TBC
7. Date of ceremony:  TBC
8. Type of ceremony: 

I'd love to hear timescales for other Brisbane applicants and whether they are online or paper applications.

Good luck to everyone.

Simon.

On 03/08/2018 at 11:52, rockinteddy89 said:

I'm still waiting for my ceremony invitation. Anyone here still waiting? 

 

1. Date applied: 24/02/2018
2. City/Council area: Brisbane City Council 
3. Online / Paper:  Paper 
4. Date received the acknowledgement email: 27/02/2018
5. Date of the Citizenship Test: 22/05/2018 
6. Approval online: 25/05/2018
7. Date of ceremony:  TBA
8. Type of ceremony: 

Hi rockingteddy89

Congrats on the speedy process to date, others seem to have waited a lot longer than it's taken for you!  

Have you got a ceremony date yet?

I submitted my application online today (Sunday 19/08/18). I'm Brisbane based too and hoping things will be quite speedy for me!

1. Date applied: 19/08/2018
2. City/Council area: Brisbane City Council 
3. Online / Paper:  Online
4. Date received the acknowledgement email: 19/08/2018
5. Date of the Citizenship Test:  TBC 
6. Approval online:  TBC
7. Date of ceremony:  TBC
8. Type of ceremony: 

I'd love to hear timescales for other Brisbane applicants (and others cities/states) and whether they are online or paper applications.

Good luck to everyone.

Simon.

20 hours ago, lttm said:

Hi,

Hopefully this is the right forum to post in, if not, apologies.

I become eligible to apply for citizenship in December and intend to apply then.  However, I'm looking at travelling for overseas for five-six months from the beginning of May next year.  As my overseas travel will be after I apply, will it cause any problems with my application?

Thanks for your help with this.

Hi lttm

I have been looking to do something similar with overseas travel after applying. I can apply for citizenship on 13/05/18 and when I spoke to the helpline (huge wait, 100+ callers, so choose phone back option) they informed me that besides the fact that you must not exceed the 90 day limit for being out of the country in the preceding 12 months to your application, any travel at all can affect the date at which you can be considered. Added to this I was also informed if you travel out of the country once you have applied, this can also possibly affect the date for acceptance. I hope I've interpreted this correctly!

4 hours ago, Chris N Lora said:

I asked exactly the same thing, I am moving back to the UK ... he said it's not possible to do it in the UK it baffled me as I met all qualifying requirements when the application was lodged.

So you’re moving back to the UK and will forget progressing your citizenship application now? Is that a definite move back or just an option that is being researched?

Simon.

12 hours ago, Chris N Lora said:

I was required to speak to immigration today ....I was advised the 13 months for 75%. The 15 months for 90% is only a guide .... some are being done faster, it is dependent on the background checks. If all documentation is given prompt and there is no extra information required, ie overseas police checks etc.  then they are being done on a case by case merit ... so some can be done long before others... and that all applicants need to be patient. 

I'm confused why they need to do all these background checks and overseas police checks when they did such checks when applicants originally applied for their visa. Surely it would be a  simple matter of checking on a database for most of the checks required. If I head back to the UK is there an option to apply in the UK to the Australian High Commission and have the ceremony in the UK? Looking at all my options before I make a decision what to do for the future.

I'm shocked at what I'm reading here. I thought I'd be applying, sitting the test and having the ceremony all with a matter of months! It hardly took anytime at all for my Australian OH to get her British Citizenship sorted when we lived there! It would appear that in most cases you are looking at times around the 9 month mark. That's ridiculous. So from my eligibility date of 13/05/18 it means I'm not likely to sit the test until the end of the year and then a ceremony Feb/March 2019! I'm seriously thinking it's not worth it. Finding work in Brisbane has been extremely difficult. I may even head back to the UK and say goodbye to my life here and Australian partner! So disappointed how things have panned out.