Canada2Australia

I'm at a loss for understanding here. As UK citizens, do you not have the right to simply move back whenever you feel like it regardless of age, if you have a job lined up, how much money you have in the bank, if you are seriously ill, etc.? So basically, can you not move back without restrictions? It sounds like they treat ex-pats like foreign nationals when making the move back.

Right on. I think if I were really wanting to become active the thr Ukie community again, I may have to move to one of the big 6 cities, where the only real Ukie communities are found in Australia, as small as they are. Something to think about.........

It's too bad there are so few Ukrainians here. It's the cultural background I was raised and brought up in (am a proud Ukrainian-Canadian ) We have the largest Ukrainian population outside of Ukraine and Russia. It's something that I miss dearly and is sometimes hard to live without for me personally, not hearing the language or eating the food on a regular basis.

Are you on the right forum? Serious question though. Are you really that desperate to move here that would go back to school for years and afterward gain even more years of work experience back home? I mean, I get your sentiment, but it's not as if the UK is some third-world dictatorship who persecutes it's citizens. It has one of the highest qualities of life in the world (as does my home nation) and is also an immigrant magnet. I'll bet you have a great life in the UK, so you would really need to think about this before throwing your lives into complete chaos. Just my two cents.

If these questions are representative of the questions that will be on the test....well....they could not have made it any easier for people to pass. I'm shocked at how easy it is, actually. Wow.

I understand this. However one's circumstances can change, and perhaps a move back home may no longer become feasible in the short-to-medium term. Should that become the case, I'm suggesting a change in scenery to a place they may enjoy more could help, at least in part, ease the feeling of homesickness until they are able to relocate overseas.

Huh. I escaped from Darwin last year; one of the best decisions of my life. I lived there for 4 years, and while yes the backcountry is nice (Litch and Kaka) and the festivals are good, the city itself is just ugly, dirty, rampant with crime and depressing. Not to mention a continuallly tanking NT economy that shows no signs of improvement any time soon. The pros simply don't outweigh the cons for reasons to live up there for most people. I would say your best bet is to get out of the NT at the very least, to any other state. I would wager your lives and happiness would improve significantly in doing so.

Off and on days of rain and blue skies in Mackay, with temps around 30C every day and humid.

Our CPP and OAS are mandatory contributions and controlled by the Feds. Some provinces have set up manditory provincial pension plan program contributions as well.

Well that seems fair. You shouldn't be entitled to anymore then what you have paid into it only when living and working in that country. It's the same for Canada, and I have no issues with that. At least we can claim it.

Interesting, although it still seems like a hassle to deal with. So if you leave the country and never come back, would that mean you will never be able to claim your UK pension, ever?

The whole Pension thing for UK citizens confuses me. For Canadians, from what I have read, my understanding is that there is an agreement between the two countries whereby as long as you work x amount of years, you would qualify for Superannuation (Aus) and Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS), no matter which of the two countries you chose to reside in, and recieve all three (I do hope I'm understanding that correctly!!). I would have assumed that a similar agreement between the UK and Aus would have existed as well, but it sounds like that is not the case, unfortunately.

Nice. I'm in scenic East Mackay lol Seriously though, it is pretty nice here.

I didn't know you lived here.

I lived in Darwin for almost 4 years. If you want, see my opinion here: https://www.pomsinoz.com/topic/207820-my-experience-living-in-the-nt/

I'll be applying from Mackay once July 3 rolls around. Hopefully it won't be along wait, and the rules for citizenship do not change as well.

Hopefully the Mackay Citizenship ceremony grants in 2020 are less hectic and processed quicker than the bigger cities. I'm counting on it

Agreed. Not every single place in this country, or this planet for that matter, will be adored by every single human being. Each to their own. But again, that doesn't detract from my original point that Darwin is a very different place from most of the rest of the country. It just is, and most people will agree. It's not an easy place to acclimatise to in many respects besides the weather. There is a very different kind of mentality up here. It's just a reality regardless if people want to acknowledge this or not. I understand the poster's anger towards my opinion as he/she is passionate about Darwin, which there is absolutely nothing wrong with. But I had to chuckle when he/she downplayed the issue of crime up here. That attitude is part of the problem why crime is perpetually high; no one wants to truly acknowledge the issue besides throwing money blindly at the problem, bury their heads in the sand and hope it will go away. Crime is a huge issue here. There is a TV commercial advertising how businesses have been broken into multiple times, including one that had 27 B&Es but how they are still open for business. I get the message is supposed to be a positive one, but still, it signals but a fraction of the social and econimical issues that plague Darwin and the NT as a whole. Unless this and many other issues are addressed in an open, honest and confronting manner, nothing will ever change up here, and that is a sad thought for me

That's fine for you, but you are in the minority, nationally speaking. You can call my opinion "rubbish" all you want, but others, MANY others, share my sentiment. No need to attack my opinion simply because you disagree with it.

Ah yes, I remember reading that thread all those years ago. Would be interesting to hear how things turned out for her. I had no idea how my situation would turn out, however I would have never thought it would be as bad as it had been. But thankfully the light is at the end of the tunnel for me, and even though I've had moments where I was despising Aussies in general, I was able to put things into perspective and not despise the entire country or it's people. I mean geeze, this isn't the US haha (which I do despise along with most people I meet from there, unfortunately). I also read through her last created thread, and coming from an area of Canada that has a lot of issues with Aboriginals (although not as bad as in Darwin where I grew up anyways), I can relate, and it never phased me too much of what goes on in Darwin. But it still doesn't make things any better nonetheless.

So, it's been 3.5 years since I've moved to the NT. And wow, what a 3.5 years it's been. First off, I must say that I have thoroughly enjoyed exploring the outback in the area; definitely some of the most beautiful landscapes in the country. I've been camping, hiking, fishing and kayaking. Enjoyed all of those moments. As well, Darwin has a pretty good festival and market scene. This is likely because it is the only large centre in all of the NT and is incredibly isolated from all other large Australian centres. So there are a few perks indeed. However, after having said that, everything else has been...well....pretty bad. Darwin itself has many many issues that it is hardly tackling at the moment. Crime is literally out of control. Substance and alcohol abuse is rampant throughout every corner of the city. And the City Council are about as backwards and incompetent as they come. The economy is in the toilet, and the population is declining; people are leaving in a steady stream. Real estate is beyond overprices, which should be correcting itself but property owners are greedy buggers and prices are not falling as they should be based on simple supply and demand. Oh yeah, the climate can be unbearable at times, but that is the least of anyone's problems and can be easily mitigated. My biggest issues has been with the people here. There are so many people up here who are....how should I put this......not balanced. Many people come up here from other parts of the country to try and escape their problems from where they come from. Instead, what happens is that they bring their baggage up here and act out through drinking and public displays of violence. I would say many people in Darwin need counselling, but they need to make the initiative to get it themselves. Also, people up here are very cliquey in nature. There aren't too many born and bred locals. But for those that are still around, and those that have been here for quite a number of years, there seems to be a reluctance to welcome newcomers into their social circles. This is because many people here come and go; the city is literally a giant revolving door. People come up here for a period of time to make their money, get whatever experience they need, and then leave. So I guess I can understand that mindset to a degree. But for me, I was looking to stay long-term and was wanting to make those deep connections. Unfortunately, I was not accepted very well up here and the friends that I did make, never lasted long or amounted to much. Plus I had some serious fallings out with a few people up here, and sometimes that can influence others into choosing sides. For me, I lost out and ended up losing all my "good" friends. You really discover who people are and their "loyalty" towards you through situation like this. Many people up here become depressed for various reasons, and I was one of those people, for two years, deeply. I've only started to recover in the last 3 months thankfully. There is just something about this place that seems to affect many people in a very negative way. So, to sum up, I have not enjoyed my time up in Darwin or the NT overall and have decided that I will not settle here permanently. It's just not my cup of tea, and many would agree. You either like it or hate it. There really isn't much of a middle ground. I've been living in Mackay QLD for the last few months, and I love it out here. Since coming out here, my life has improved substantially. My PR was granted two days after I arrived, I've started to mingle with people again and am slowly building friendships (although this will take some time I am aware). Also, I've been offered to be relocated here for a bit with an option of staying permanently or moving to Cairns should I choose to, which I am considering because I like it up there as well. I should be out of the NT permanently by end of next February at the absolute latest. So to sum it up, think very carefully about choosing Darwin or anywhere in the NT as a place to live. Do some research on the place and even come and spend some time there as a means of gauging whether you want to live here. You may end up liking it, or it could be the worst choice you ever made in your life.

Hi all. Quick query. My mother is coming out here on an ETA for Sept 1. She had applied on July 3 but still hasn't heard anything yet, but they did make a withdrawl for the fee from her account. Five years ago when I apploed for the exact same visa, mine was applied in less than 24 hours. Does anyone know if the wait times have now increased substantially for the ETA, and perhaps if she needs to get onto them about this? Thank you kindly.

Oh no. Not at all. I just assumed this was a general questions thread for all kinds of visitor visas. Apologies if this is in the wrong thread. And TBH, I don't even know what the acronym VACCU stands for!

Quick query. My mother is coming out here on an ETA for Sept 1. She had applied on July 3 but still hasn't heard anything yet, but they did make a withdrawl for the fee from her account. Five years ago when I apploed for the exact same visa, mine was applied in less than 24 hours. Does anyone know if the wait times have now increased substantially for the ETA, and perhaps if she needs to get onto them about this? Thank you kindly.

Cheers. Will do!