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SusieRoo

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  1. SusieRoo
    NAB has asked the stock market to suspended trading of their shares. I think this is unprecedented for one of the big four Australian banks, although there is apparently nothing for depositors to worry about. Reminds me of Mr Birling saying “Titanic sets sail today...unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable ..”
  2. SusieRoo
    I have to agree with all of the above, but there will come a point where the needs of the ‘economy’ will outtrump (or outvalue) the danger of the virus. Clearly not everyone will die from the virus and this will have to be balanced by the overall damage a prolonged shutdown will do to society. Public health is only part of what makes society glue together and there may be a time when some really hard choices have to be taken. So far there is no cure for the virus and no vaccine, maybe there will never be either. What then? Will we just have to accept we are mere mortals and all playing bit-parts in in some Darwinian/Attenborough production. Scary stuff I know, but think about it, a few weeks ago we could not even start to comprehend what is now normal. So how do we know the even more unthinkable isn’t waiting for us again in the coming weeks?
  3. SusieRoo
    Anyone care to hazard a guess as to when flights/borders will open up again? I had being thinking September might be realistic, but now there is speculation in the UK media that air travel will be the last thing to open up (and possibly not until 2021). I have noticed in my area people are not as strict in their lockdowns this week with a lot more movement on foot and in cars. People are now sitting on benches and sunbathing in the parks, as we have been very lucky here with near perfect sunny weather. Talking to neighbours and friends, there is growing frustration and a need to someway get back to normal soon. I think this is because there isn’t the same level of fear now (although we have lost two locals to the virus). Personally, I don’t believe it will be long before mounting public discontent will force the UK government to rethink their lockdown policy. Although it would be better if we could get access to buy facemasks to wear in shops and public places. What’s the mood like in Australia? I guess there will be enormous pressure to get tourism moving again, but maybe not as much appetite to restart immigration with high unemployment.
  4. SusieRoo
    I’m not so sure about this. The biggest problem Australia is facing now (excluding the virus) is unemployment. The economy is very reliant on consumer spending and confidence, especially to keep the housing market from crashing. The only way to prevent the economy slipping from recession into a long depression is by getting as many Australians back into work as soon as possible, post virus. There’s going to be growing pressure to halt all immigration for the next few years. I fear many of us here may have to reconsider our plans.
  5. SusieRoo
    With BA we can change dates without additional cost, but only within a 12 months window from the date we originally booked. And unfortunately we have already changed date once (due to our house sale) and we now only have a few weeks of this window left. So, not really any point now, but I do think we may be able to make a claim on our insurance. I also noticed BA has has quadrupled the price in the last week. I guess we just have to be thankful we still feel healthy at the moment and spare a thought for others not so.
  6. SusieRoo
    We have flights with BA on a still open route, except we can’t enter Australia now on a 600 visa. And it appears BA won’t automatically cancel these flights (Because the route is still open) and if we choose to cancel, we don’t get the full refund.
  7. SusieRoo
    S**t… that’s not so good. I did the test email thing this morning and they are ‘officially’ processing up to 16th Feb for both 173 and 143 visas. I hope you hear something soon.
  8. SusieRoo
    Good to see 143s now moving up to June 2016, but what’s happen to the 173s? Anyone else on a 173 with February or March lodgement and still waiting?
  9. SusieRoo
    Australia's home affairs minister Peter Dutton has been tested positive for coronavirus...
  10. SusieRoo
    AUD now at a 17 year low against the USD. I have recently heard (not sure if this is fake news) that the deposit guarantee scheme has a cap (or limit) per bank. So the big four banks with thousands of customers will potentially not cover the full $250k for each of their depositor’s accounts.
  11. SusieRoo
    The extreme volatility in the finical markets is putting more strain on the banks. USA interest rate down to 0% last night and the RBA is printing money to support Australian banks (they would possible fail now without this liquidity). This is completely uncharted territory and it is so important to structure savings and finances now (don’t keep all of your eggs in one basket). Be prepared for a rough road ahead and keep some cash at home.
  12. SusieRoo
    Your post was perfectly clear to me. I find it difficult to understand why anyone would want to turn it into something else. This is a stressful time for many of us here and the last thing we need right now is another forum misunderstanding and more dented egos. I still think it was pointless splitting this parent thread into two. It was so much better when there was just one place to check for parent visa news. What do you think? We too have flights booked in the next three weeks and I feel it is unlikely that we will now be allowed to travel. We are also taking our dogs this time, which is going to cause innumerable problems because of the timing for their medical tests and quarantine in Australia. To make matters worse, we sold our house last month and have been saying in a holiday cottage, which we now have to vacate in ten days time. So I’ve been carful not to buy too many groceries, but now have only one pack of loo roles left… STRESSED!!!
  13. SusieRoo
    That’s what the banks like us all to believe with their happy adverts full of singing employees. But the reality is very different when there’s a crisis (and there is going to be a big crisis this year). When you deposit money in a bank, you are essentially lending your money to the bank. You’re giving the bank a loan and you become an unsecured creditor. Your money is now the banks money and all you own is a contract. Then if the bank is in trouble, they can turn around and say “sorry we can’t pay back the loan” If you read the ‘terms and conditions’, there is always a clause that will allow the bank to change the ‘terms and conditions’ whenever they want. It’s a one-sided contract and as an unsecured creditor you have very few rights. The deposit guarantee scheme only kicks in when (or if) the bank fails completely, which we know from the GFC, is unlikely to really happen. Banks are too big to fail. This is why this new ‘Banking Amendment (Deposits) Bill 2020’ is so important now to prevent banks from ‘bailing in’ your deposits. Australian households now hold debt on average of around 190% of household income - one of the highest levels in the developed world. If the economy now falters and the bubble pops, Australian banks are going to be in trouble. Personally, I believe this would be a good time to keep some cash at home, just in case.
  14. SusieRoo
    The government guarantees most Australian bank deposits up to $250k. And it’s per person per bank, so you can have $500k in a joint account in one bank and multiples accounts across several banks. So if the bank collapses you get paid out by the state. Only problem, there is currently a loophole that allows banks to ‘bail in’ your deposits to save the bank from going bust, as happened in Cyprus. The banks can just stop you accessing you account and help themselves to your money, while they try to fix the bank. There is however a new bill currently in progress ‘Banking Amendment (Deposits) Bill 2020’ which will close this loophole if it passes. I just hope it passes in time for what’s about to happen.
  15. SusieRoo
    Thank you for the information. I appreciate how much time you’ve been putting into preparing all of the pervious lists. It’s a pity we didn’t have data like this a few years ago, as it would have saved a lot of disappointment. It’s much better to have a realistic timeframe for the CPV process and it’s a disgrace that immi doesn’t disclose the full extent of the queue length to new applicants.
  16. SusieRoo
    Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to see progress for all these 143 visas, but I’m starting to become a little paranoid now. Are there any other 173ers with Jan, Feb or March 2016 lodgement dates and are also still waiting to hear from immi? Have I missed the email? Have they lost my application? Too many negative thoughts… I need more wine!
  17. SusieRoo
    It’s normally around May when processing grinds to a halt for the quota yearend. I’m wondering if this virus has caused immi to stop processing parent visas. I think Chinese applicants still take-up the loins share of parent visas. And now with the travel restrictions from Mainland China, it could be difficult to stop processing visas from just one country without generating problems for the future. I don’t know if this is fake news, but I read some Australian universities are so desperate to get their fee paying Chinese students onto their courses, they are paying for students to have a two-week holiday in Bali en-route to circumvent the travel ban.
  18. SusieRoo
    The only two things in my life which are not speculative are taxation and death. Everything else is an assumption base on many decades of life experience and gut feeling. In fact the older I get, the more I like to trust my gut. And coincidentally the older I’ve got, the more gut I’ve got to trust.
  19. SusieRoo
    Very true… there is now no obvious benefit in anyone 60 years of age, applying for a 143 visa over a 103 visa. The queues are about the same length and you have the option to switch to a contributory parent visa at any time without loosing your queue date (however there are other considerations). Contributory parent visa are no longer serving the purpose they were intended. The only way Australia can fix this is to increase the cost. There was a report a few years ago that calculated parent immigrants cost the taxpayer approximately $250k each. I guess if this were the price of a 143 visa today, then processing times would again be realistic. There is a general consensus here that if the cost of contributory parent visas should rise, it will not be applied retrospectively. And existing applicants will only pay the price quoted at the date they applied. But if you change from a 103 visa to a 143, you could loose this price lock-in. Also the ‘cap’ on all classes of parent visa can change on a political whim. So queues could dramatically lengthen at any time. They can also close down a parent visa stream (as we have seen in the past) or close parent visas for new applicants (like happened in New Zeeland). It’s always best to take advice from a good agent (like Allan). But if I were starting again I would lock-in to a 143 now and then get on with my life as normal. When we first applied, we thought the wait would be only 18 to 24 months, if we had known it would take more than 4 years, we probably would not have applied. But now we are thankful we did and 4 years seems like a breeze compared to the 10 years of possible delay for today’s applicants. And who knows how long the queue will be in the coming years, even ten years queuing might not look that bad in the future.
  20. SusieRoo
    To be honest, I think I am wrong about this and the OP is actually eligible to apply for a 143 parent visa. Have a look at this ( https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2004A01090 ) and let me know what you think?
  21. SusieRoo
    I think we are all getting pulled down a rabbit hole here. To qualify for a parent visa you have to be a parent of an Australian citizen or PR, you can’t just borrow someone to stand in as a substitute child. Sponsorship for AoS is something completely separate and should not be confused with eligibility for a visa.
  22. SusieRoo
    Yes, an outright lie!
  23. SusieRoo
    I’m not sure if it’s a credit card or just a debit card (savings) you need, but we discovered Transferwise a few years ago. I would highly recommend their debit card linked to virtual bank accounts. Especially good for converting currency with a super easy to use app on your phone and you can have your income paid in from any country.
  24. SusieRoo
    You can’t swap from a 173 to a 143 without starting again. Also there is normally parity in the processing times for 173 and 143 visas, it just got a few months out of sync last year (perhaps due to AoS delays for 143s). And now the 143s have got a little ahead, but it’s still all moving at roughly the same speed.
  25. SusieRoo
    Not a dicky-bird… but I am relishing all the recent progress. Thank you for asking... and how about yourself? Do you have an expectation date for your visa, or do you just take it day by day?
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