Tulip1

Their dinky bottles of Shiraz are very nice too.

I’m no expert and have never been through this either but from things I’ve read on here over the years I believe if the other parent gives permission (has to be official, someone can’t just says they were ok with it) then that’s the end of it and Australia home affairs will issue the visas. If the ‘peaceful’ permission isn’t given then it’s a drawn out process through UK courts. I think the children's wishes are also considered subject to their age. I don’t think Australian courts get involved as the people concerned are not Australian and are habitually resident in the UK.

It’s a good question. I assume the dad hasn’t agreed to it which is why the OP has to go to court to get permission as that wouldn’t be needed if the absent parent consented. Even if the divorce had happened, there’s no such thing as custody in the UK anymore. Courts can state who the kids reside with but both parents are seen as equal.

Apply for police clearance now. They will wait as long as you’ve applied within the timeframe given and evidence that to them. As for medicals, I actually got the request for mine last November when I was on a 3 week holiday in Australia. I did a very easy thing. I got my medicals done at Bupa in Perth while on holiday. Sure it took half a day out of my holiday but if you want something enough you will make it happen.

I think your son needs to get some professional advice. I think him getting a WHV may have been a mistake and that has cancelled his old PR. Suggest he contacts a migrant agent, there are several on here that are excellent.

All the more reason to find a way to do test in the UK then. He if returns to the UK he’d be stuck with only being allowed to drive an automatic.

Is there nowhere in the UK he can do the test? Even if you have to drive a way to get to it? Assume you’re on cancellation lists/checking every day.

There seems far less sacrifice on her part in terms of this move. Of course she can see the benefits, she’s moving to be near her sister. She’s also wanting you to move near her sister and take you and the kids away from parents and grandparents. Now if you are really up for the move then all good, go for it. But….it sounds like you’re hesitant. She does of course have every right to want to be near her sister but I’m not sure her gain against you and your parents loss would be described as lovely. As for your question on whether it’s selfish. I think those that make the move have to have an element of selfishness to do it. That doesn’t mean I think you shouldn’t as it’s your life, your choice. But let’s be clear and honest. No parent has hopes and dreams of their adult kids moving to the other side of the world, taking their grandkids with them. Parents may be very supportive and genuinely happy for their kids that make that choice simply because that’s what nice parents do. They want what their kids want and their kids happiness comes before their own. However, in their hearts it’s the last thing they want and if you go your decision will hurt them. You still should if you really want to and your parents will be happy for you while being sad for themselves. Don’t be swayed by the ‘it’s better for the kids’ as kids can thrive in either country. Yes the kids will get an opportunity to experience living in another country which is good but that will also come at the expense of not seeing their grandparents. Ask yourself how do you think that will make them feel. See it for what it is…..it’s better for your wife as she wants to be near her sister.

I agree with this and many don’t realise. I have a very good friend who moved to Cornwall many years ago. She saw it as the lovely life many imagine. However, pretty much the whole of the summer was a nightmare as the roads were gridlocked, especially the seven weeks of school holidays. There was no such thing as jumping in your car to pop toTescos, you could be an hour stuck in traffic driving a mile down the road. You couldn’t go anywhere for the day without the hell of spending ages trying to find a parking space along with thousands of tourists. The weather on the west coast can be rough and as you say, very wet in winter. Also, like many tourist spots, much of it was dead during the winter and many things were closed down. After two years they moved back to where they had left and never regretted the return. I think places like Cornwall would be lovely if you could have a second home/holiday place there but I don’t think living there full time is a idillic as many think.

Possibly. Why doesn’t he just get a new Australian passport. Saves any issues and he’s then got a ten year passport to use ongoing.

Not really. One persons poor values doesn’t mean it’s ok to display the same values. It might be a convenient excuse to do the dirty on another but it’s very poor to see an employer going through the extensive process of getting people a visa only for the employee to crap on them. If those people didn’t like their working conditions in the three year build up they could have walked away.

It’s all about being able to afford the payments. Whether that comes from a salary or a pension is irrelevant. In fact for many, a pension is more secure. You can lose a job/become too ill to work but many pensions such as final salary, annuities and UK state pensions are guaranteed for life.

As Quoll says, your child would not get any help re studying fees nor would they be able to get any student loans (or the equivalent). Many have been caught out with that as with PR you get most of what is available to citizens and assume that includes uni help but it doesn’t.

Apologies. I’d noticed you’d said on two occasions they were dependant children so assumed younger.

You’ve stated your relationship has broken down and will end in divorce. You’ve also said she doesn’t communicate with you or see her children and she’s gone off to live her new life. If there’s no official change to your relationship then you have a very unusual relationship. Better to be honest. Your relationship is over and you want to take the kids to Australia to live and you’re trying to find out for sure if you’ll be able to/get away with it. That’s an understandable thing to think. The other thing to think about is if she hadn’t given her consent for the kids to move over then she can get them straight back under The Hague convention. I don’t think something written by an agent will get you anywhere, the rules are the rules. I feel for your situation and very much understand why you want to go. That’s not the same as pretending you can and all is ok when you can’t and it’s not. Best of luck.

Paul above is a highly regarded MARA agent. You can be confident what he says is correct. Perhaps take a look at your grant letter and challenge the person who gave you the incorrect answer.

You say validate them within the five years but I think they’ve expired as you needed to validate them within 12 months. Holders of PR visas were never stopped from entering Australia and that is what you would have been in that 12 months. I would say you no longer have visas. Even if you did as you have now ended the relationship with the main applicant your part of the application is invalid. Pretty sure all that is correct but I’m no expert.

I can’t see why. All the time you’re renting you’re just paying someone else’s mortgage. Might as well be paying your own. If you keep renting you’ll be doing that for the rest of your life. At least with buying you will one day own it.

Then very tricky I would think. You definitely need to speak to an agent.

I suppose submitting your tax returns and your bank statements showing cash paid in would be a start (providing they marry up amount wise) but I’d assume only a start. Cash paid into a bank account cannot usually be taken as income (in many scenarios) as you can’t prove it was income. You might have sold a car or anything else or a friend/family member might have given you money as a gift or for you to borrow. I’d suggest you get professional help on this from a migrant agent.

But it’s easy to put a coat on to make you more comfortable outside. How do you make yourself comfortable in sticky hot weather. By dashing in and out air con buildings I’d imagine. Really cold and really hot are equals I think. Both unpleasant.

My first entry date was a year from my recent visa grant and not from date of medicals/police clearance.

The team at Go Matilda are excellent. Nothing was too much trouble for them when I was waiting for my visa.

Some of the British public may get up in arms but I assure you not all do. Just as you say Australians think, so do many Brits. When someone is sitting on safe land such as France and they can apply for asylum there or in any other safe country they’ve passed through, it is a choice a get in a boat. It’s not on a whim or some ill thought out decision, it’s months in the planning at a high financial cost. They do it because they think life will be better in the UK but no one makes them get on any boat. They are adults that make that choice and as with anything in life, they and not others must take responsibility for their choices.