can1983

1 hour ago, richev said:

My wife and I are planning a trip back to the UK later this year with our recently born son, who will be 5 months old when we travel. We're both Aussie PR, and he is dual UK/Australian (with both passports).

Our current plan is to fly Vietnam Airlines premium economy, in a bulkhead row with bassinet, with a few hours hotel layover in Vietnam each way for a bit of relaxation and recuperation. We've flown a similar itinerary with Vietnam Airlines before, albeit when it was just the two of us!

At the moment our son is exclusively breast fed, but we may have added a few formula feeds to his daily routine by the time we travel. To date he's been a pretty good sleeper. The longest journey we've taken him on so far was a night away in the Blue Mountains (we're in Sydney) which was a lot harder than we expected.

I'm really interested to hear anyone else's stories of traveling back to the UK with young babies, along with any recommendations or cautions you might have from your experiences!

We did uk to Tasmania with our son when he was 7 months

It was better than we thought, we did shifts holding him whilst he slept leaving the other to watch tv or sleep or simply to have some time away from childcare.

the critical difference though is that we selected airlines that flew the A380 because it has so many areas where you can take the baby away from the other parent for a break

I guess you will be flying A350 or 787? not sure how many areas there are to leave the seating?

8 minutes ago, ramot said:

Will get advice on the above from our tax agent who is experienced on the tax rules between the 2 countries as this will affect us. There is a double tax agreement between UK and Oz so surely you can’t be taxed twice. Will post when have this checked out.mind you you can never win against the tax man!!!

 

double taxation laws just means that you get a credit in one country for the tax already paid in the other, it doesn't mean Australia can't demand tax on uk income just because the uk tax due is paid. Three examples:

- director salary in the uk GBP8000 no uk tax to pay but if you have a job in Australia above the tax free threshold they will want 20% of the income (or so)

- type of income in the uk that (for example) is taxed at 10% but in Australia it is 30%. Australia give you credit for 10% already paid but still want the 20%..

- in the uk you can't cliam (much) interest deductions from rental income but in Australia its all the rage. So if you have a large mortgage in the uk you probably wont pay much tax in aus but if you have no mortgage .........

4 hours ago, veryhopeful said:

Hello everyone

It's been a while since I was on here, so am a bit out of touch with all the rules!  I am pommy, now here 9 years (how time flies!)

I need to source someone to help me run a British shop on the Gold Coast.  Obviously I would like a British person to add to the authenticity of the shop.  Am I allowed to post a job vacancy on here?  If so, where?

Thank you all very much!

good luck with the employment laws on that one  positive discrimination for foreign nationals

Would have thought family income of $400,000 to provide a 30 minute commute to CBD in Sydney and pay for a child's private education. A family home is going to cost 1.5-2 million. I used to live in Drummoyne, great location and about 30 minutes from CBD in peak hour. Inner west is very good. Eastern suburbs are more pricey..

13 minutes ago, Toots said:

I take it you are from the south of England?   Just from your tone I can guess that you are.

Liverpool has some lovely areas as well as the not so nice ones - just like most cities.   I enjoyed the four years I lived in the area very much.  Met some of the nicest people too.  

 

is it that obvious

The problem with the North is its too cold, rains significantly more than the south especially in the NW and vast swathes of the North were well and truly shafted by their own strike actions in the 1970s and by the demon PM in the 1980's

So whilst there's not much than can be done about weather or the past the fact remains its a lot less appealing than the south to live and work. That is the reason for the north south divide. I can't even bear the south let alone the north that's why I live in Australia now.

If the OP is struggling with Liverpool its possibly because Liverpool is just one of those cold wet previously oppressed Northern cities which has tried so hard and done so much to improve its lot but remains, in my opinion, a place which is tough to live.

Melbourne is a completely different bag. Rich and vast sport on offer, great weather apart from a couple of stuffy weeks in the summer, ample employment, excellent public transport, great culture I could go on.

Of course it would be hard to leave a world city for the north of England. It would be just as hard to leave London and move to Ballarat....

The only thing better in Liverpool than Melbs is the standard of football

Oh and the medical treatment for headbutts and other GBH injuries is far superior in Scouse land due to the experience the local health professionals have in dealing with this sort of injury.

Chester isn't a bad option if you are looking to get a part in Hollyoaks???

Don't live in QLD but visit Brisbane a bit. Really depends on where jobs will be but I really like west of the airport (north Brisbane) where my sister lives So Wavell Heights, Nundah, Banyo etc. Easy (if very busy) trains to city.

Guess you are just the two of you? flats / small houses might be in the $400 - $550 a week range.

Most important thing about emigrating in my opinion is managing expectations. You loved your trip in the campervan but real life is far less interesting.....

whilst it is true that car seats from Europe are not legal in Australia the whole thing stinks of a money making exercise. For Australia to suggest that its seats are world class and European standards are dangerous and risk the lives of children is pathetic.

The Australian car seats we have used (borrowed family / friends / hire cars) have all been rubbish with fiddly harnesses which cant be clicked in without leaving a twist in the strap. The tether strap for rear facing seat aims to decapitate the cherub.

54 minutes ago, TanZuv said:

My only child Kris passed away inLondon nearly 5 years ago  he had his ticket to come here the day after his funeral. Anyway 1 have become very close to a student from Brazil for the,ast 4 and half years and his visa is up in June he’s supposed to have done 370 hours of painting and decorating and he’s paid over 20 k to do this course and. Coz he hasn’t got experience he can’t get a job and without the hours he’s not going to get his 3rd Student Visa. Anyway I can’t loose him I’ll feel like I’ve lost 2 children . He’s 28 and I’m 56 so can’t marry him as it wouldn’t be believed anyway he’s been acting for the last two years and has A lead roll comming up and the Director / Producer, / Writer who has already made a movie can nominate him , but I’m scared that he hasn’t done enough to be applying for the Distinguished Talent Visa and he’s done Lots of Charity work. But I’m worried that if we wait for another 2/3 years to apply that so he’ll be even more internationally recognised. But do you think he won’t get the student Visa for the third time? Please can someone help me. Thanks in Advance. Tanya

Not sure if this is genuine, sorry but its hard to follow what you are asking.

One thing I'm pretty sure about is that distinguished talent is international sportsmen/ women and the like and if its acting think you are talking more brad pitt than john smith. I think its a visa to allow top talent to work here short term for making a film or playing for a team

38 minutes ago, Tulip1 said:

Totally agree. If you wouldn’t be ok with seeing your child just once a year then you shouldn’t think it ok to expect another parent to accept that. Sorry, tough but true. 

agree also surely any agreement for 'one trip home a year' isn't legally binding, you can just say you can no longer afford it.

18 minutes ago, unzippy said:

And to counter the above, our LG worked fine in terms of receiving channels in Aus but the smart bit didn't.

Factory reset but no smart apps.  Only one to work is Youtube. 

Netflix, Prime, iPlayer, E4, etc - all gone.

 

Lots on the internet of how to fix it if you want to mess about with VPNs etc

Or do as we did and use a Chromecast.

Yes I must admit we only use youtube Netflix etc.

Thing is in my experience you can only sell a tv for a fraction of the new price so why not bring it and use it for the 90% of the full functions instead of getting 50 quid for it

1 hour ago, Paul1Perth said:

I've never got the isolated thing. Isolated from what? There are some fantastic places to visit. I prefer it down South personally. Margaret River, Denmark, Augusta etc etc. 

The economy is picking up with lots of money being spent on new mining ventures. The mining and oil & gas opportunities are numerous for good welders. I have a friend who's a welder. He's married with kids though so never fancied FIFO but he's never been out of work. Money isn't so good locally but it's OK. They seem to get by just fine,  have plenty of holidays and eat out a lot.

Some of the bigger projects that my son has worked on have to be seen to be believed. Check out wheatstone for sheer size. Offshore oil and gas is massive.

Been to all those places visiting WA in 2014. Lovely places but there's a limit to how many times you can go and Denmark is 5 hours from Perth so hardly a weekend job

32 minutes ago, Raul Senise said:

I would suggest that you obtain professional advice as I am suspicious of the 70 points you claim to have.

I would hazard a guess that it was on online self assessment, as it would be difficult (if not impossible) for a 40 year old with no degree to score 70 points.

Online self assessments "tools" are nutritious for being very generous with points allocations.

Yes online self assessment tools provide all of the elements of a balanced diet. They are often used by Vegans to supplement their protein deficient diets

30 minutes ago, Drumbeat said:

Not entirely true, some industries have picked up considerably in the last 12 months. 

Well I should add they had jobs related to mining and construction (as did/do many)

Would think twice about leaving any family to move to Perth where the economy is in bad shape. We have friends who have been forced to leave there due to lack of work after the mining boom ended and have a house in negative equity they can't afford to sell.

Its the most isolate place on earth. Even the penguins in Antarctica have more places to visit

Way too soon to feel settled. I've been in Oz for 15 months and think I'm beginning to feel settled (we settle on our first home here in 2 weeks).

In terms of making friends that has usually taken 2-3 years to establish in my opinion

1 hour ago, Marisawright said:

 

She can only get temporary work.  That's an important distinction.  

Most people on a WHV do casual work, but that's because their main objective is to travel around Australia, so they only want the odd job here and there.   However, the WHV allows you to work up to six months in the same job, and many do.  Both my nieces had no trouble getting steady office work through a temp agency.  

If you are interested in PR eventually, then do make sure you understand your chances.  In the old days, it was common to come to Australia on the old 457 visa and then "move on" to PR. It's much harder with the new 482 visa - and getting harder all the time as they reduce the number of visas available.  By the time two years have passed and you're ready to apply for PR, the door may well have closed.   So plan your move on the assumption you're going home at the end - rent out your house instead of selling, for instance.

Don't believe employers if they tell you otherwise - obviously, they want you to take the job, so it's in their interests to exaggerate. 

As for the skilled visa for your daughter - do you understand what I mean by a skilled visa?  I mean either the 482 (which would require a sponsor) or a Permanent Resident visa.  For either of those visas,, she will need to be in an occupation that is on the skilled list.  Not only that, she will need both the qualifications AND the experience after qualification specified.  If she can't meet those requirements, she can't get a skilled visa.  

Important point this. In 2008 I worked as a Naval Architect on a WHV for 6 months for one employer earning $75k prorata. No where in the WHV rules does it say the job must be low skill or fruit picking. I ended up working for the same employer for 2 1/2 years (but on a 457 by that point).

But I was 28 at the time AND have enough experience to qualify for a 457 AND the rules have changed so much since then.

As has been said before 21 year old can't yet get a skilled visa

29 minutes ago, Toots said:

Here in Devonport we had rain overnight but it's a lovely sunny, breezy day today.

Can we have some rain down south please. Getting pretty sick of the smoke

don't know about WA specifically but our UK Samsung smart tv is fully functioning  in Tassie. We did a factory reset on arrival to delete uk channels and apps.

Its worth the risk, its naïve to think Japanese or Korean tv manufacturers make a special model for little old blighty

8 hours ago, Captain_Tor said:

From what I can see the current it's currently set at 65 points.

That's the minimum to apply, but very little chance of an invitation to apply with 65 points for most occupations

We are about to move house (finally!) into our own home having lived in a traditional sauna/icebox home for the past 14 months. We are on a rolling lease as the real estate were so incompetent they forgot to force us to renew! (Hobart)

So I wanted to gauge opinions from those that have done this before:

1/ How much overlap would/did you leave from our settlement date to handing back the keys for the rental (to allow for moving, cleaning etc)

2/ How much notice would you give to the rental real estate. The minimum is 2 weeks which I want to give but my wife wants to give them more time. I'm concerned if something crops up with our settlement date well in advance we might  be 'homeless' requiring to move twice!

fancy registering and venting that first off the bat! definitely time to leave!

1 hour ago, Sharron Grimshaw said:

Hi, thank you for feedback. In these circumstances then, would you suggest not applying for a refund by not withdrawing the visa and see what happens ?

Sorry not sure what you mean? This is how I consider it but maybe you should speak to a registered migration agent or pm one of the ones on this forum.

As the relationship is now not ongoing your son isn't eligible for the partner visa anymore and should tell their case officer (if they have one) this fact. However I'm pretty sure you wont get a refund of the fee. When I applied for mine it stated there are no refunds of the fee. Perhaps a compassionate reason might work if your partner died for example but this doesn't seem a strong case for a refund.....

2 hours ago, Sharron Grimshaw said:

Hi

I hope somebody can help me.

My son came over to Aus in 2017, met an Australian girl and they returned to England and got married in 2018.

(In the meantime my father passed away and left my son and his brothers £20,000.00 each.)

At that point my sons wife decided she wanted togoback to Australia, my son had just got a really good job and was unsure about leaving theUK but didn’t want his wife to be unhappy so they flew back to Melbourne.

They eventually secured an apartment but my son was unable to work for 3 months as he was on a visitors visa.  They applied for his partner visa and he was granted a bridging   visa whilst his partner visa was being processed. My son used his inheritance to fund their new apartment and living costs while his wife applied for jobs. She eventually started work whilst they waited for the 3 months period before my son could work.

They has been back in Australia for 2 months when my sons wife decided she did it want to continue the marriage and she left him............SO my question really is does anybody have experience in withdrawIng the partnership visa application and then applying for a refund of the $7000.00 that he paid when the application was submitted, As he has now returned to the UK

hopefully somebody will have an idea if we can get a refund.

thanking you in advance

Sharron Grimshaw

 

 

100% can't get a refund, it says it when you apply. Even withdrawing before a case officer is assigned doesn't get a refund. you certainly wont get one when its been activated/validated.

1 hour ago, Aussiebird said:

Hello and Happy New Year!

Me and my husband lived in Australia from 2012-2014. He was granted a partner visa.

I have many family members in Australia (I am an Australian Citizen.)

We are wanting to move back to Australia but my husband doesnt know if he is entitled to a RRESIDENT RETURN VISA or if its applying again for a partner visa?

The cost of the RRV is significantly cheaper than a new partner visa but we are wondering if we have been back in UK too long now to be granted a RRV?

Any help on this matter would really put his mind at rest.

If he has to apply for another partner visa, would he be able to use any statements etc provided in support of his application that he used in the first place? Would save him a lot of time etc....but the documents have date stamps on them from around 2011.

 

Thank you so much in advance.

Xxx

 

Can you not apply for a RRV first and if it fails go the partner route?

You don't get a ban for failing to get a RRV!