palaceboy1

2 hours ago, VERYSTORMY said:

Given its incredibly long processing time, it wouldn't be reliable. The current processing time is 30 years. 

I expect it might reach 30 years but they are processing August 2010 now

8 hours ago, desert-eagle said:

I did it myself, was an easy process.

 

Yes I agree if no problems . However it took three months from paying the second vac charge to the visa being issued and I would like to think that my agent was fighting in my corner . I notice that it was ten months between acknowledgement and visa in your case . Maybe luck maybe not?

See my timeline we used Go Matilda (Alan Collett)

On 26/10/2021 at 04:20, Marisawright said:

Why do you need one?   There is no rush to get a bank account sorted these days.   You can just continue to use your British bank account as normal for a couple of weeks, your credit cards will work exactly as they did in the UK and you can use the ATM's like anyone else.   Yes, you'll be at the mercy of the exchange rates but it's not a huge issue.

If you have substantial funds to transfer to Australia and you want to kick off the transfer before you leave, transfer it into a Moneycorp or Wise account.  It will sit there happily until you are ready to move it into an Australian bank.  

I think Moneycorp are closing their Australian foreign exchange operation from December 2021

38 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

No, it wasn't 2 years time frame at the time of applying.   It was already 8 years on the date you applied, you just didn't know it, because that information wasn't published.  The figure on the official government website only meant, "we are currently processing applications we got 2 years ago".   That is still how they show the figures on the website, which is disgraceful, because it gives people a false idea of how long their own application will take.  

For instanc, people applying today are seeing a 5-6 year processing time on the website, but the actual waiting time for them will be over double that. 

There has been a petition and there is a senate enquiry due next year, but to be honest, I don't think it will change things.    The government has already carried out a research project and discovered that parents cost the government millions in health care and aged care, far in excess of the fees they collect, and they don't want to take on that burden.  They also know that even though Australia is regarded as a nation of migrants, the number of people who actually want to bring their parents to Australia is only a small percentage of the voting population, so there's no incentive at the ballot box either.

I find this strange regarding the 143 visa where they state only current processing times but with the 103 visa it states up to 30 years when in fact they are processing august 2010 . Double standards I think !

On 19/10/2021 at 00:07, Nat1982 said:

Im an Ausralian citizen by descent and the rest of family on family visa. 

The island we live on is tiny, north to south is like 70km, you couold drive complete island in couple of hours, population 180,000... its basically a volcanic rock surrounded by sea. We have hills, volcanos which we have loved to explore. The beaches are lovely too.

But, we want to see some green grass and trees..rivers, lakes, wildlife, etc... Last year here, we had torrentual rain for a few weeks, it was the first time in 12 years we´ve seen some green and flowers on the hills, it was spectacular!!

Im not worried about taking flights to east coast or anywhere to be honest.... If i can manage here for aslong as i have??....... then Perth and surroundings excites me heaps!!

 

Sounds like Tenerife?

2 hours ago, BigJoe said:

Please don't laugh.

 

But can I take quite a large Ammonites fossiil that I have since I was a boy? I presume as long as it has been well cleaned this should be OK?

 

 

We bought two dinasaur dung fossils over with our shipping , no problems, mind you we did not declare them

48 minutes ago, Waldo said:

which shipping company did you use please

Pretloves of Saffron Walden and Epping

24 minutes ago, Ollie1234 said:

Exactly this. It's getting to the point where those who have been vaccinated are to be penalised to keep those who don't want it safe. Purely political move in my opinion. 

 

So what’s the alternative , if I look at the Uk daily figures there are approximately 35000 daily cases 200 deaths daily and 7500 in hospital seems strange that they don’t report how many of the deaths have been fully vaccinated .I am not against travel or vaccination just posting what I hear from local Australians. This topic is on the wrong thread I think so won’t comment further

On 23/09/2021 at 23:27, Juniper said:

I read with mounting fury today that Boris Johnson has asked Scott Morrison for special dispensation to allow the Uk cricketers families to accompany them to Australia for the Christmas Test Matches!

I was incandescent!  There are thousands of us who would love special permission to spend Christmas with our families who live in Australia & whom we have been forcibly separated from since the outbreak of Covid 19, including new grandchildren whom we have never seen!

Boris Johnson will probably not even be aware of our heartbreaking situation but I am sure that Scott Morrison is only too aware!  Surely this cannot happen?

 

 

 

You could look at this in a different way . The more special exemption persons/groups that are given visas/entry the sooner the borders will open to all . We were lucky to make the move to WA in October 2020 but since here I have not met anyone who wants to open the strict borders but have listened to numerous people going on about their rights to not be vaccinated or to choose which vaccine . You can see where certain people are coming from , life is good with no restrictions other than travel and WA is a massive place to explore.

We paid £4200 in Sept 2020 arrived December . Cambridge to Perth door to door 20 ft container no problems

That’s why the 143 visa costs so much . 

48 minutes ago, desert-eagle said:

Looking for some advise Queue date 103 visa 01/07/2015 switched to 143 visa 12/10/2020 with Acknowledgement Letter 25/10/2020, No update has been provided so far. I was expecting the application to progress considering original application date was 01/07/2015. Has anyone been in a similar boat as me  ?

We swopped from 103 in Jan 2020 with an original queue date of 24/08/2015 . This was just before COVID hit and most of our paper was in (see our timeline) our only delay was after payment of the second VAC and actual issue of the visa . You have obviously been caught up with the delays in visa processing , are you using an agent ? As I believe without one we might also still be waiting. We have been living in Perth since last October but it was an expensive move when you add on the cost of flights and quarantine .

24 minutes ago, rammygirl said:

Always read the weasel words of the ts and cs.  Yes you will be covered if you get COVID BUT not for the following!

 

 Trip cancellation / interruption due to
- epidemic / pandemic-related travel advisories issued by governments, health authorities or the WHO
- border closures, quarantine or other government orders, advisories, regulations or directives; or
- disinclination to travel, change of mind or fear of travelling, or if an airline has offered a refund or

So in your opinion would the OP be covered for a trip to Australia if they contracted Covid prior to flying which stopped them boarding

• Up to USD 500,000 for overseas medical expenses and emergency evacuation.
• Up to USD 7,500 if your trip is cancelled due to contracting COVID‑19 or for other reasons named in the policy.
• Up to USD 7,500 if your trip is cancelled or cut short if the school year is extended due to COVID‑19 beyond the departure date, and you or a relative is a full‑time teacher, full‑time employee, or a student at a primary or secondary school.
• Up to USD 7,500 if your trip is cut short due to you or a relative* falling ill overseas, including contracting COVID‑19, and you need to return home.
• Up to USD 7,500 if you have to abandon your travels for failing a COVID‑19 test or medical screening at the airport.
• USD 150 per day, per person for up to 14 consecutive days if you test positive for COVID‑19 and are unexpectedly placed into mandatory quarantine while overseas.
•  
• Just copied the above from the Emirates website it’s including for free on all bookings after 01/12/20 , seems to cover the OP query !
•  

^{*Relative as defined in the policy}

22 minutes ago, Jon the Hat said:

I seriously doubt it.  They might offer insurance when you book, but that is not the same as including it in the ticket.

Just take the time to look it up it says tickets booked after 1st Dec 2020 and includes Covid at no cost

I think Emirates include this insurance within the cost of the ticket also covers COVID

We decided to insure just specific items within the shipment as we thought that a lot of our stuff was personal and probably low cost and we would have difficulty proving value of any damaged items . As it turned out so far one broken glass and two broken mugs

On 13/06/2021 at 06:23, Sash123 said:

Hi everyone, this site has been so helpful to me in getting through the visa application amidst COVID restrictions I need some advice though. On 3/6/21 I received the second VAC request for my 143 parent visa. I paid it on 4/6/21 and haven't heard back since. It was an offshore application but I am currently in Australia on a visitors visa. Has anyone been in a similar situation? Most people on this site have said that their visa was granted the day after the second vac was paid. I'm not sure why mine is taking so long, can't help worrying. 

We were similar to yourselves other than being off-shore . We paid our second vac in March 2020 but the visa was issued on 2nd June 2020. Quite a stressful time!!

3 hours ago, Marisawright said:

I wonder how they knew?

A friend of ours travelled to Spain in a motorhome, they went every year for six months in the winter signing on with the local doctors and received all manor of treatments under the reciprocal agreement . After five years they were asked to attend an interview with the NHS to explain the list of treatments claimed , it was at the interview that they were told that a percentage of overseas claims were audited every year . 

12 minutes ago, Ken said:

Wise are offering $18,295 (some 36 minutes after your post so your rates may have changed in the meantime), so yes that Moneycorp rate does look way off the mark - especially as Wise are only claiming to save you GBP 262.46 vs the banks.

I found that when I had a UK account Moneycorp  offered a better rate . Now I am in Australia they are giving pretty poor rates last week the bank rate was approx 1.83 and I got offered 1.81 on £100k that’s AUS $ 2k charge . I had to complete the transaction but I will be looking elsewhere for future transactions. 

Has anybody entered on a 870 only relying on the reciprocal health cover as I thought a Medicare card was only issued if you maintained the visa conditions .

1 hour ago, rtritudr said:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/27/uk-covid-cases-india-variant-matt-hancock-three-quarters

Hospitalisations are already on the rise in some areas of the UK as the majority of UK Covid cases are now of the Indian variant.  This despite India being on the red list of countries and all travellers from there required to quarantine in a hotel for 10 days.

I think the hospitalisation rising in the UK in certain areas is more to do with the high ethnic population in those areas and the non take up vaccinations . 

these are the discounts on the two seniors cards , it’s a bit of a muddle as the discounts are listed in order under the suppliers

WA Government Concessions for WA Seniors Card Members 2020-21
          Public transport fares
Transperth – 13 62 13.   
Regional transport
Transwa – 1300 662 205
Water service charges
Water Corp – 1300 659 951
Local government rates
Water Corp – 1300 659 951
Emergency services levy
Water Corp – 1300 659 951
Driver’s licence
Dept of Transport – 13 11 56
Vehicle licence fee
Dept of Transport – 13 11 56
Photo card
Dept of Transport – 13 11 56
Fishing licence
Dept of Fisheries – (08) 9482 7333
Entry to WA museums
WA Museum – 1300 134 081
Entry to national parks
Parks and Wildlife – (08) 9219 9000
Spectacles subsidy
Dept of Health – 13 44 77
Cost of Living Rebate
WASC Centre – (08) 6551 8800
Air conditioning rebate
Contact your energy provider
Abbreviations
WASC WASeniorsCard
CSHC Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (Centrelink)
Like us on facebook.com/WASeniorsCard
 Concession fares plus free public transport during off-peak times.
50% concession on Transwa services.
25% rebate with a WASC, capped at $100
50% rebate if you hold a WASC and CSHC, capped at $600
25% rebate with a WASC, capped at $100.
50% rebate if you hold a WASC and CSHC, capped at $750
25% rebate with a WASC.
50% rebate if you hold a WASC and CSHC.
50% rebate with a WASC .
100% rebate if you hold a WASC and CSHC.
50% rebate if you hold a WASC and CSHC.
50% rebate with a WASC .
100% rebate if you hold a WASC and CSHC.
50% rebate with a WASC.
Concession on entry fees.
Concession on entry fees.
Up to $54.34 every two years.
2020: $137.22 for couples $91.51 for singles.
Rebate with both a WASC and a CSHC for the cost of air conditioning in areas of high heat discomfort (e.g. Pilbara, Kimberley).
                                                          

This has now made me think about the Assurance of Support agreement to which I have not had any paperwork about what might be allowed and what is a no no . When looking at government websites on this issue they state that income related benefits are not allowed and when I search income related benefits term with Centrelink it states regular payments made . I also have found no reference as Ken has mentioned to the 4 year qualifying period so I suppose a few phone calls to Centrelink to clarify . I am not sure that applying for age related discounts falls into the same category as hardship payments .