vickyplum

1 hour ago, SydneyBound said:

Indeed they have, from one year to four years. 

@SydneyBound Hi, have you actually heard that this is definitely happening? Please post a link if so.

I was keeping an eye / ear on things, but have been a bit slack lately!

Thanks 

28 minutes ago, Gbye grey sky said:

I think the rules are changing this year so that you will have to have 4 years of PR.

https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/trav/citi/whats-new

OH! I had forgotten about that little drama...will have to see what happens with it in July then.  I was looking forward to applying in 2019!!

4 minutes ago, Gbye grey sky said:

Sorry, just re-read your post and looked at your timeline.

As I understand it now your period of residence on the temporary visa 309 will not count towards the 4 years so you will not be eligible until April 2020.  I may be wrong on this though so hopefully someone more knowledgeable will help.

I'm pretty confident I'm good for citizenship application next year, as per below.  But I will be sure to work it out carefully, closer to the time! https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/trav/ente/retu/residence-calculator

To satisfy the residence requirements you must: 

• have been living in Australia on a valid Australian visa for four years immediately before applying which must include the last 12 months as a permanent resident,
• and 
• not have been absent from Australia for more than one year in total, in the 4 year period, including no more than 90 days in the year immediately before applying. 

Lawful residence means living in Australia on a valid Australian temporary or permanent visa.

21 hours ago, Gbye grey sky said:

In light of my validating my PR visa in 2014, arriving less than 12 months later and not left the country since I am eligible to apply later this year.  However by then I will be just 2 years away from my 60th birthday and therefore would not then need to take the actual test.

Off topic slightly, my understanding is that you need to have been resident here for four years... So I arrived May 2015 and am aiming for May 2019 to apply. 

Or have I miscalculated...?

On 2/11/2018 at 20:20, oliver27 said:

Yeah the physical copy of the 40SP doesn’t ask but then if you do it online through the immiaccount it does. Strange. It’s probably the most awkward question out of them all, especially when you live in Europe and travel to different countries regularly.

I got most of my European travel details from the date stamp on photos!  That and diary entries etc.

I didn't think the 40SP asked for any of the countries visited, just where the sponsor has lived in the past 10 years. The 47SP (applicant) does ask for the countries visited. 

I had a 1hr 5min transfer time when I last went through Dubai (on Emirates flight booked via Qantas), which was originally a longer time period but the onward flight was moved to an earlier time.

I was in business class and flagged to the cabin staff that I had a short transfer time, so they put me and a few others into the first cabin, just before landing, so we could be shoved off ahead of everyone else.  The flight landed late so I was in a bit of a flap by this point... had to go through security and the staff there were not amazingly receptive to me and another woman who were saying we needed to rush, etc. And of course I got pulled over for a frisking.

Luckily the next gate was only around the corner and we made it with plenty of time.  But with no thanks to the staff onboard or the airside staff, which I found particularly bloody annoying, given the short transfer was not of my own making, and most airports are set up for short turnarounds and are often waiting for passengers with a short transfer window. 

@torn, you say: 'We are thinking of moving to Melbourne, but I my daughter has bad eczema and I am not sure the longer, darker winters will do her any good and it doesn't help with my heat issues.

If you are thinking of moving to the UK (job, visa etc aside) you should go in December / Jan / Feb and you will soon find that Melbourne winters are a walk in the park in comparison!  Freezing wind blowing in your face, getting dark before 4pm... I get you don't like the intense heat, but UK will also provide you with long cold and dark   I love the Sydney winters and would very happily live somewhere with that climate all year round, but that magic egg hasn't hatched yet! 

I applied for a credit card with CBA - no problem. I think this was after a few months of working, therefore having regular payments going in bank a/c. No evidence from UK was required.

@Pura Vida Chimpanzees in the Tetley adverts. Think they stopped being used in ads during the early 2000s

52 minutes ago, Skani said:

The EPL is played over 9 months.  Because of the climate in Australia,  AFL  is a winter sport played over the cooler 6 months of the year (late March to late September).  Any serious extension of that would be stretching the friendship a bit much.

Ah thanks, didn't know that, but makes a lot of sense! ?

17 minutes ago, Wa7 said:

They should bin the stupid pre season comp and then it's very possible to play each other twice.

I know it's not the same sport but there are 20 EPL teams and they manage to play each twice, plus finals etc etc.

not that I am interested in AFL or EPL I should point out 

6 minutes ago, Wa7 said:

Be careful with the dentists here, they get carried away with themselves if your not on your toes. Walk in thinking it will be x amount and its doubled by the time they have finished because they do "extra " that you haven't asked for. 

Yes I find that too... and the price is never mentioned until you're finished and front desk give you the bill!! 

I went to the dentist earlier this week, and the charges (Gordon, upper north shore Sydney) were:

Examation $65

X-rays (2) $88 

Scale & Polish $118 

We have full hospital cover on BUPA but not dental. 

Kmart do a pack of six wooden hangers for five bucks. I've got a mix of those and the plastic ones like The Pom Queen has posted. Really nothing to be at all concerned about!! 

I find Aus is not too great for internet shopping. There's David Jones and Myer. There are a few beauty type websites such as Adore, and also ASOS / The Iconic for clothing, shoes, accessories etc.

I always send my parents something from a UK based website, and they are always very kind and deposit some cash into my UK bank account, by way of a gift. That way I get to spend some pounds when required, and my bank account stays active!  

Sydney is a huge sprawling area.  Assuming you've got an idea of what you may be earning, use www.domain.com.au or https://www.realestate.com.au/ to look at costs in different suburbs.

Do you want 1 bed, 2 bed. inner city, outer suburbss? Near a train line or near a particularly road / route? Beach side, harbour side?  In the bush? 

Part of our decision on where to live, was to be near a train line and good public transport - we didn't want to be reliant on a car to do every single thing, although I know it doesn't bother most people.  We also wanted to be near-ish to relatives - so ended up in the next suburb up from them.  Makes the commute to the CBD, North Syd, Macquarie Park very easy, so not too concerned about work location at long as it's relatively sensibly located. 

The Mayor of London (Sadiq Khan) is the one who wants to bring in the extra charge of 10 GBP on top of the existing 10 GBP congestion charge, and he is a member of the Labour Party  

I personally wouldn't say that having a car older than 10 yrs, means the owner is poor. Maybe they just have other priorities which exclude upgrading their car at frequent intervals., or it's just not a big deal for them.

why don't you apply now with the new name and pay the extra for the express processing time?  if you don't think you'll get it back in time with standard processing.

Check Vevo

https://www.border.gov.au/Busi/visas-and-migration/visa-entitlement-verification-online-(vevo)

see button on the right of the page ' Check your own visa details with VEVO'.

We when packed up, boxes were marked in general terms:

ie, crockery and cutlery

Clothing, shoes and bags 

Books

Paperwork etc.

And we put all wooden items in one box and marked accordingly. 

I always think of them as being apartments but with your own front door

I lived in one (modern build) and it was really nice, but as I was upstairs, no garden or outside space of my own. 

Also watch out for 'cluster homes'. A bit of an outdated term but is basically two sets of semi-detached houses, back to back (ie, a 'cluster' of four). Usually only one or two bedrooms though.

1 hour ago, sualg said:

Hi all and thanks for the reply’s. we have just arrived in Sydney and are in a Air BnB in Narrabeen. It’s beautiful here! I’d love to stay but wondering what the commute to the Olympic Park will be like for my wife when she starts her new job? I’ve tried the express bus to the CBD and it wasn’t that bad

it's around 35-40km from Narrabeen to Olympic Park. Add that to the Sydney traffic, and personally I'd give it a miss! 

Unless you are going to be at the beach every day or have reason to be near it, it would probably be worth your while (and your wife's sanity) to move closer to her work. 

13 hours ago, ZoeTaylor said:

Thanks everyone for this.  Just read the bit about TV's and Radio - looks like both radio and TV will be good to bring but, and this may be a really stupid question...we have an external top box to get all the freeview channels here - will that work in Oz?

The link that @Cerberus1 posted above is really helpful and will answer your question!

Not sure on TVs to be honest. We didn't bring ours as it was pretty old and not worth the hassle. I assume a UK TV would work in Aus, but would check elsewhere first!