Cliffy43

As far as Pension is concerned, it would be paid at the specified rate to all pensioners living overseas, http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/enablers/outside-australia-pension-rates-payable and you would have to satisfy the conditions for that. The legislation can change any time though, and you would have to be aware of that. As far as a visa to live in UK, has your wife any possibility of an ancestry visa? If not, it appears to be very difficult to obtain a Spouse Visa for UK and normally you would have to have employment there for her to qualify. You would be able to receive NHS care under the Emergency Treatment Reciprocal Agreement between UK and Australia.

Private Health Insurance is not the same with each company. You should check several, through a site like www.iselect.com.au or www.comparethemarket.com.auand check what they offer for your particular needs. Most have a waiting period that you have to go through before you can make claims, but this varies. If you don't belong to a Health Care Fund, at the end of the Tax Year you will have to pay a surcharge, depending on your husbands income. The govt. introduced this to force people to join Health Funds. I think you have to belong for the whole year to avoid the surcharge. Have you checked with the school to see whether your son can be seen by a Speech Therapist from the Education Dept?

Try Gumtree, you can see the stuff and pay on collection, as well as search within your area.

Yes, I always made the girls (I have 3) clothes, especially the party dresses and nice clothes, but there were lots of material shops and I could get lovely fabrics. I also used to make shorts and babygro's as they were so expensive to buy. I even used to make their school uniform dresses. Nowadays, it is much cheaper to buy everyday clothes, so my grandchildren wear clothes from Target and Next. But they have so many clothes!!!!! Ours used to get a pretty new dress for summer each year and that was it. I made many of my own clothes when I was younger, but can't find the time now. I used to find it very relaxing to sew at night, after they had all gone to bed. I used to go to all sorts of classes to make different things. They were held at the local high school and it was good to pick up tips from people who really knew how to sew. I have tried to get into quilting, but seem to have trouble replacing elastic these days!!!

Thanks for your replies He doesn't actually want or need to work, except that he may get bored. His present employer will pay him all year. I thought the Partner Visa would take too long to come through, he plans to come next September and I also thought he had to be wanting to live here permanently to apply for it. He doesn't want that. I was more concerned that immigration might query several tourist visas issued in one year, as he only plans to return home once or twice for his University course, each time for around two/three weeks.

My daughter and her partner are returning to Australia later this year with their children for an indefinite period, but not permanently. She and the boys are all Australian citizens. Her husband, no current Australian visa at all, has a year's long service leave from his job and will be paid by his employer. He is doing a course from their country, mainly by internet, but is required to attend for a week two or three times in the year and he will return there for that. (It is much cheaper than doing a similar course here as an international student). They do not want to apply for a spouse visa, as they do intend to return overseas, so he would not be able to fulfil the conditions. So what visa should he apply for, just a Tourist visa, or a longer stay Tourist. His course is not based here so he cannot have a student visa. He will be travelling without her back and forth, and they could be here longer than 12 months, so he wouldn't necessarily be a tourist. It would be lovely if he could do some work on a casual basis, lecturing or tutoring or similar, but I can't find a visa that would allow casual work. He is definitely over WHV age. Any ideas?

My daughter flies in the next few weeks with 3 small children, Ages 6,3,3 to Europe. She is flying business class, as her employer is paying. I did try to explain that she would probably receive some criticism from other passengers, as they pay for business class to get away from children, but she is hoping they will all sleep from Aus to Dubai. Business class passengers beware!!!!!!!

Firstly, if you are not in Australia already would you qualify for a visa and which one? the Business emigration visa seems very expensive. In our area here, there are classes organised by the local council and run by volunteers, which do pretty much what you suggest. There are also language schools in the CBD. You would have to select the area carefully so as to attract people who would pay for these services.

http://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity/import/plant-products/dried-herbs-and-herbal-products I think the answer is probably no, as you cannot guarantee they have been processed as required. Flour and sugar are both agriculturally derived products, food, and would have to be declared. Is it really worth the hassle? You can easily buy them here.

We were in UK last year and my husband, an Australian citizen, no other passport, was admitted to hospital and also received scripts free of charge under the Reciprocal Agreement between UK and Australia. However, his normal scripts which he had from his Dr. here, we obtained enough to cover for the 4 months we were away and declared them on the special form for taking medicines overseas.

You normally clear customs and immigration at your first point of entry, Perth, in this case. However, why not ring Etihad and make sure. When I have flown into UK through one airport and then onto another, I have always cleared immigration at the first airport

If you are that scared of spiders and cockroaches, maybe this isn't the place for you. Huntsmen spiders are really good at clearing the smaller ones away, but all spiders eat smaller insects and clear up debris. The poisonous ones are redbacks , but white tailed spiders can also leave a nasty bite. Try the Supermarkets for Cockroach bombs and traps, follow the intructions and use both in all the rooms. Spray around the outside areas with Surface spray, or you can get the apartment professionally treated

I am not sure whether you qualify, but have you looked into becoming a New Zealand citizen, which I believe would give you the right to travel to and reside in Australia as you wished and still keep you options open if you wished to return to NZ. You can have dual British/NZ citizenship.

The Qantas Frequent Flyer Card is not the same as the Qantas Club Card. Your wife can apply for a Qantas Frequent Flyer Card in her own name and accrue points on her flights. One way of doing this for no cost, is to join the Woolworths Everyday Rewards Programme and sign up for free membership of the Qantas Frequent Flyer Programme. I usually get a return trip somewhere in Aus. after a Qantas flight to UK I am not sure what it costs to join Qantas Club, but it is quite expensive for a yearly membership. The facilities you describe are only available to Qantas Club members, not Frequent Flyers.

Is it an Australian or UK Passport? You can apply for Priority processing, which is done in 10 days for an Australian Passport, for an additional fee. I should ring the passport office and ask for that. If it is a UK passport, I think the only way is to front up in person to the High Commission or Embassy nearest you (Canberra?)and apply for an Emergency Travel Document https://www.gov.uk/emergency-travel-document