Brucolino

Update: I received my travel exemption and left the country a few months back. I provided following evidence: My booked one-way flight ticket My passport My partner's contact details Statement from my partner and his family as to our relationship and the address I would be staying at upon arrival Medical letter from my partner's mother's doctor confirming her stage 4 cancer diagnosis My doctor's supporting statement - as I was suffering with symptoms of anxiety and mild depression due to the travel ban All flight tickets between my partner and myself as evidence of our frequent travel during our long distance relationship prior to the travel ban A personal statement detailing my case, my partner's mother's battle with cancer and the toll the travel ban was taking on our relationship and mental health. Within this I stated that I would be handing in notice to my workplace and letting agency upon confirmation of my travel exemption Upon travelling I was initially overwhelmed and somewhat traumatised by everything - getting stopped by police at the airport to check my travel exemption was valid, mandatory masks covered by face shields on the plane etc. Once I landed I was relieved but it still took me a couple of weeks to return to my normal happy and calm self. I am finally in a happy place, reunited with my partner, breathing well again, sleeping peacefully again

Hi again all, When I'm filling out the online exemption form - both options for "compassionate grounds" and "urgent personal business" have planned return date as a mandatory field. Whichever option I were to choose I am essentially leaving the country for the foreseeable future, particularly with the uncertainty of coronavirus I really do not plan or intend to travel in the next few years. I am confused as to why this a mandatory field if it is the right option for those wanting to leave the country Any thoughts/suggestions?

Thanks Marisa makes sense now. I'm not reluctant, I just like gathering as much information as possible as I have been reading about many cases of skilled workers struggling to get travel exemptions (albeit they are returning from overseas) have even known of cases at my workplace. Was reading an article yesterday about one person getting refused 9 times and having to provide a mountain of evidence before getting approval. Partner is not a PR, when he came out initially it was on a working holiday visa. This is not really an issue as we are planning to get married and would have other VISA options. At the very start his mother had not had her diagnosis so this changed things. We started traveling multiple times throughout the year to meet up. Very expensive and not ideal but it really kept us motivated. Now with this pandemic we are both misserable. Anyway, our situation makes it very difficult to make a plan (or for me to know which travel exemption option to choose). It's likely we will just have to give up on Australia. Thanks again for all your help

Thanks so much for the information Marisa, The summary of what I am thinking of adding in my application is that I want to leave Australia as my partner and I are in seperate continents and due to the pandemic can no longer travel to visit each other which in combination with his mother's condition have made us both decide to remain close to home & family for as long as the pandemic restrictions are in place (recognising that this could be years). - Does this seem more or less like the level of detail needed? Some follow up questions I'm hoping you can help answer: You mentioned a decision could take around 4 weeks. How many months in advance should I book my flight date? If for example I were to book travel 6 weeks away, is there a chance the review of my case could take longer? Is there really any guarentee I will not be denied travel ? It still seems very high risk booking a flight and handing in notice to workplace and landlord without prior approval ? Lastly, would I be eligible to apply for a RRV in the future to extend my PR for a further 5 years, if after say 2-3 years COVID travel bans were lifted? Thanks again!

Hi Marisa, If I went down the route of "compassionate reasons" what evidence would I need to supply? What reason did your member give for example? Things I am thinking of for example is whether I need to prove my relationship, which I know is required for partner visas etc. Is there a chance you could be denied travel? And if so - would I be allowed to appeal this decision? If I go down the route of "urgent personal business" is it enough to supply a written statement that I am leaving Australia? Or would I need a statutory declaration witnessed and signed by a legal official? Thanks

I don't understand how the process works. Obviously I'm not going to hand in notice to my landlord and work without getting prior approval to leave Australia. The last thing I want is to be stuck here without a job or place to stay.. Has anyone on here (as a PR) applied for a travel exemption and been successful? What type of evidence/documentation did you provide? Did you consult with a migration agent on how to submit a case? Are there any migration agents on this site who can offer advice please?

Thanks for your reply Marisa, As a British citizen I assumed they would have advice on repatriating their citizens. Do I need to provide evidence of permanent relocation out of Australia? What about evidence of my relationship to my partner (as we are not married). I've heard they are very strict with issuing approval for travel. Has anyone submitted an excemption requested and been successful that can offer some advice please?

Are there any migration agents on this site who can give me some direction?

Hi all, So my plan to leave Australia was not as simple as initially suggested. I've discovered that as a Permanent Resident I am not allowed to leave Australia - it is completely banned for both PR's and citizens: https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/leaving-australia Simon Birmingham made an announcement yesterday that international borders will remain closed till at least 2021. With my partner still stuck overseas, at this point I just need to get out of this country. I contacted the British Consulate in Melbourne which gave me an automated message to select from the follow 3 options: Option 1: VISA info - directed me to their website and hung up the call Option 2: Passport info - directed me to their website and hung up the call Option 3: Is literally for emergency assistance if you've been arrested or detained overseas ... I then contacted the British Embassy Foreign and Commonwealth Office. They were completely clueless. The guy said "Flights from Australia to UK are operational, just fly back" .... I tried explaining the PR situation and he's now asked me to put everything down in writing so that my case can be 'analysed'. Does anyone on here have any recommendations on how to get out of Australia? At this point I don't even care about my PR - happy to revoke it. But how does this all work? 'homeaffairs.gov.au' talks about applying for an exception if you fall under the following: But then says the application must be supported by a plethora of evidence to support your claims. Do I need to consult with an immigration lawyer? Is there a way I can revoke my PR VISA?

That sounds awful. Hope you can both get through this

Thank you both, Knowing this actually gives me some piece of mind. The whole situation sucks but I wouldn't think twice about prioritising my relationship over Australia. Just can't believe this is all actually happening

Yes - my partner is stuck overseas due to mother in law being unwell with cancer and was due to fly back to Australia which has now been cancelled. We were hoping we could re-plan for him to travel over the summer but it's looking impossible. My only options now are I either Australia all together or spend the next year(s) apart.. which is really not an option at all. Neither of us are AUS citizens..

Truth is this entire situation is unprecedented and nobody really knows how long it will last. I keep reading and hearing from many that realistically this will last for the next 18-24 months and it's causing me massive anxiety. I am literally having nightmares related to the lockdown.. I'm hoping I will have a better indication in the next couple of months of when I might be able to travel. I'm not concerned about being allowed to return to Europe but about Australia's borders being closed. If the situation has not changed by the end of the summer I will need to leave Australia. I'm just stressed of potentially not being able to. Should I be getting in touch with the British embassy? Do I need to receive approval? Will any flights even be operating? And based on this - should I be planning to leave Australia sooner or wait and see? .. so much uncertainty it's driving me insane

Hi Nemesis, Thanks for your reply. Can I ask: What makes you say we are faced with spending years apart? Is this a pragmatic expectation that travel restrictions will persist for over a year(s) ? Or a hypothesis? Do you reckon there will be any improvement before this? Admittedly I am suffering severe anxiety over the prospect of relocation vs being separated from my loved ones for the forseeable future

Hi all, I have been living in Melbs for 2.5 years now but have loved ones overseas that I'm really needing to see. My partner is also overseas due to mother in law being unwell with cancer. The current situation I'm in is we had to cancel my Easter travel and will most likely need to cancel summer travel plans due to the persisting travel restricitons. I'm not wanting to leave Australia but if the situation does not change in the next few months I will most likely need to as I can't maintain this distance for a year+. Is international travel even possible at the moment? Can anybody offer any advice as to when I should be attempting to do it? I.e. should I start planning my relocation asap so that I get out sooner rather than later or should I wait it out and hope things will improve over the next few months (over the summer perhaps)? Any thoughts/advice appreciated - thanks all

Thanks Paul! Very helpful indeed. Do the 2 years need to be within consecutive years or is it enough to just have the 730 days throughout the 5 year period? I will definitely be joining my partner for a few months after completing my work assignment in Sep. to support him and his family. But I'm now thinking of returning to make up the 2 years. Thanks to everyone for your inputs

Just to clarify. I have been on holidays outside of Australia, both in Asia and Europe while still renting here and being employed here (as part of my holiday leave). So these dates would not count as me living here?

Does this include time outside Australia spent on holidays?

Thanks Ali, My sister is living here and has been for the past 5-6years so I do have family ties in Australia. I was hoping to find out if family illness is potentially categorised as an exceptional circumstance when it came to a decision regarding the RRV and the length of extension. The diagnosis was unfortunately made straight after our VISA was granted. We still came out here in the hope the treatment would be successful. Unfortunately the cancer has metastasised and treatment is continuing. It's this uncertainty that is making it very difficult to plan ahead. It's been incredibly straining on our relationship living in different continents and we are spending a fortune on back and forth travel which is why I am making the decision to leave Australia. I still want to try keeping my options open though. It's all very stressful.

December 2021

Hi all, I am on a PR visa (189) which I activated in Nov 2017. I stayed in Australia with a family member for 3 weeks or so but then went back to Europe for Christmas and to come back to Australia with my partner. We returned Feb of '18. Since then I am living/working in Australia. My partner had to go back due to serious illness in his family(cancer) and wants to be close to them for support. Treatment has been on-going for the past 2 years and will continue. We don't know what the future holds right now. The distance and time-zone difference has been extremely difficult for us especially since we recently got enganged. With everything going on I am thinking/more or less decided I should also leave Australia. My current work assignment ends in September after which I am thinking of leaving. It's far from ideal and I feel very sad about it all.. but I don't feel like I have much of a choice. Rather than turning my back on Australia indefinitely I'm hoping of keeping the option to return open. My questions: Can I apply for a RRV before my 5 year PR unlimited travel expires? Do I need to have stayed in Australia for 2 years before applying for a RRV? Would people recommend I stay on a few more months to meet the 2 year residency requirement? If so - would I be able to count my residency status from Nov onwards(when my PR visa was activated)? Or will the fact I returned to Europe for a couple of months work against me? How long does the RRV extend to? Is it just 1 additional year or more? If anyone else has gone through a similar situation please feel free to offer advice. Thanks everyone x

My update so far. I went through a contact that my sister's partner knew and he got me an interview for a position straight away. He knows the hiring manager there and gave me some good advice. I attended the interview today which went really well and their HR called me to set up a 2nd round interview for Monday. I'm staying positive and hopeful. In my experience, knowing the right people really is the way forward.

Just thought I'd mention that I was applying to multiple positions in Australia while I was still in the UK. I included in the cover letter than I had permanent residency and was in the process of migrating on a permanent basis but did not get a single response. Even when I would send emails to recruiters I wouldn't get any reply back. I think the moment they see a UK mob.# on your CV/application they just bin it. It's also my understanding that a lot of people who migrate end up moving back home within 1-2years. I met a lot of people like that actually when I was furnishing my flat. Most people selling their furniture on gumtree seemed to be migrants who were moving back. I spoke to them and they were all saying the same thing - that they gave it a go, but that it wasn't for them. I got a few things from an English and Irish couple and then some off New Zealanders moving back. I was also asked in all my interviews ' are you here permanently? '. My point is - because a lot of people do move back home I think there is a level of prejudice when it comes to migrants out of fear they will(and can) get up and leave at any moment. Clearly though there is a large majority that does stay, including my sister, her partner, and others I have met and interacted with, so everyone's experience is different! I think a Pom Tech network sounds like a great idea! ? I've been looking into similar networking events myself on meetup.com

@Wayne There are massive differences between the UK and Australia. Even after months I am still adjusting to it all. It doesn't feel like home but I was expecting this when I made the decision to move here. It was never going to be easy and to a certain extent I was prepared for that. I haven't actually met any people here. Back home I knew and spoke to all my neighbours. It doesn't feel the same here. Every place is different and everyone's experience will be different too. That side of things doesn't bother me too much because I'm with my partner and I have some family here too so I'm not alone. I do hope I can expand my social network once I'm in work though. Regarding the Australian recruitment process, it seems to be heavily focused on who you know. My sisters' partner has been offered a couple of jobs just by speaking to the right people (no interviews) and the IT security specialist I spoke to last weekend was offered his job through a friend, also without an interview. It does seem to be fairly common here. That's not to say I haven't had any interviews. I've had 2 that were extremely positive, but despite telling me they were very impressed and would be setting up a 2nd round interview, they never followed up. I have read a lot of similar stories. It’s almost as though the jobs aren’t genuinely on offer but they are simply sussing out candidates for potential future hire. I have thought about this especially with small scale businesses because they possibly have plans for future expansion. For one of the interviews I attended I was sent a message about a month later telling me that the process was taking longer than anticipated but that I would be hearing back. They didn’t specify a date. I think in Australia things just tend to move a lot slower. Another thing I’ve noticed is that almost all the jobs advertised seem to be contract work as opposed to permanent positions. The issue with contract work is that the role descriptions are extremely specific so even though you may come across as a talented/competent, highly experienced professional, you may not tick just 1 of the multiple boxes and that’s enough to deem you unsuitable. I’ve found this to be the case in roles where they’ve asked for Australian Finance industry specific experience. I think a permanent position would be more willing to develop you, having you learn on the job. Remember to take everything with a grain of salt. This is just my experience and observations so far. Everyone's experience will be different. I still find Australia an exciting place and can't wait to earn some money so that I can afford to do more travelling and see more of it! @Tootsie yes there are many IT professionals in the market but the fact they are still issuing skilled migration visas for these professions, in theory, indicates there is still a demand. I don't believe there is much point in comparing IT students or qualified graduates to experienced professionals. Skilled migrants typically are both - I'm not competing against graduates and graduates aren't competing against professionals. Back in the UK, most companies offer graduate schemes and internship opportunities. I've seen internship and graduate roles advertised in Australia too so I assume the process is pretty similar here.