Yelverton

Sure - we applied in Sept 2018, had interviews and tests in May 2019, citizenship approved 30th August 2019 and had ceremony 15th Oct 2019 Too easy

We spent our last holiday relocating campervans - we did one from Adelaide to Sydney and the another from Brisbane to Sydney. It costs $5 per day and they also give you a fuel allowance which covered approx half our fuel costs. The only downside is you have a limited time to relocate the van but it suited us fine. We stayed at rest areas or in cheap campsites and had really good quality Maui campervans which slept 6 (there were only 4 of us) and had a fantastic holiday. You can sign up for a daily email alert to let you know where the vans need to be relocated https://www.drivenow.com.au/onewayrentals.jspc#/relocations/AU

You are taking a risk by not coming before your RRV runs out. You will not have lived in Australia for 2 out of the past 5 years so will not qualify for a 5 year RRV. You may be granted a 12 month RRV but you will need to show evidence of substantial ties to Australia and provide supporting documents. We found ourselves in this position - my husband had a job offer in Australia but it didn't start until 5 months after our RRV ran out and we couldn't move in time. We got help from Go Matilda who were fantastic but that was several years ago so things may have changed

I applied for all 4 of ours individually (mine, my husband plus 2 kids). I just attached the same documents to all 4 applications - ie husband's job contract, receipts for school fees, school reports plus a statement of ties to Australia for each of us. It doesn't matter which one of you has the job, (I don't work at the moment), you are here as a family and you all need your own RRV I think you need to click through in order to get to the page where you can attach documents. If immigration feel that something is missing, they will email you or put a message on your immi page

With regards to babysitters, could you not ask for recommendations from other school Mums or work colleagues? That's what we did and we now have several that we can call on If your husband is going to get his job back and you can get the kids back into their old schools and you can afford to move again, I would go for it. You'll lose your RRV next year and after that it will be much harder to get back in

Don't worry about being too old to start again. I broke up from a long term partner when I was 31 and living overseas in his native European country. Went back to the UK and met a fabulous English guy when I was 32, got married and had our first child when I was 38. We're now both living in Australia. Was the best decision I ever made

I would recommend Go Matilda - they helped me in a similar situation

I shipped 3 boxes totalling 90kg in 2015 with Voovit and paid £155 They came by ship and took 3 months Plus I had to pay a port service charge of $215 when the stuff arrived

We got PR based on my husbands job (which is on the list) but since arriving have spent at least $50K on courses and exams to allow him to work at the same level as in the UK. Not just financial hardship but also a very stressful time with a lot of pressure on him if he didn't pass

Re the little things - get your mobiles unlocked before you leave the UK

I agree with Snifter - Calpol is the only thing we ask for when people come over to visit. My kids hate Panadol

The original 5 year RRV ran out in Feb 2015 and we were granted a new 1 year RRV in Jan 2015 as we were able to prove sufficient ties to Australia. Obviously are now back onto 5 year RRVs as we have been living here for 3 years

Thanks for your help everyone. That's great news as I thought we had to wait until next year. So do I put the date we entered Aus for our visa validation as our Lawful Residence Date and just put June 2010 - June 2015 as an absence?

So as the law stands at the moment, we need to wait until June 2019 to apply for citizenship but if the new legislation is passed and the new requirements come into place, I can apply from 1st July 2018 "applicants for Australian citizenship will need to have a minimum of four years permanent residence immediately prior to their application for citizenship with no more than one year spent outside Australia during that period" As we will have had PR since Feb 2010 so our 4 years period could have started from June 2014-June 2015 (1 year outside Australia) and then June 2015-June 2018 (3 years resident in Australia) Is that correct?

Just looking for a bit of help about when we can apply for citizenship. Our PR was granted on 15th Feb 2010 and we came to Aus for 2 weeks in June 2010 to validate our visas. We then went back to the UK for a few years and finally moved here arriving on 27th June 2015 (having renewed our RRV before arriving). As I understand it, to apply for citizenship, we need to have had a minimum of 4 years PR with not more than one year of that out of Australia. So can I apply in June this year (if I count our first year as being out of Australia followed by 3 years in the country) or do I have to wait until June 2019? Thanks for your help

I would also agree with Glenelg. We arrived in Adelaide in July and my kids still went swimming in the sea - they wouldn't do that now though! If you are here for a month, it would be a good idea to get an Entertainment Book which would give you a lot of vouchers for up to 50% off attractions, restaurants etc. It costs $70 (which goes to charity) but you would soon recoup this. There are also vouchers for soft plays (play cafes as they are called here) and museums which will be practically empty during school term time www.entertainmentbook.com.au - it comes in a digital version as an app on your phone or as a book with vouchers which you tear out

I'm counting down the months until we can get ours. Peace of mind when all the rules keeping changing

The rules changed in SA in 2017/2018 (depending if you were already here or newly arrived) and now you have to pay $5200 per year for primary and $6200 for high school if you are on a 457

We moved to SA in June and our kids started in Term 3 in July. My daughter (Aug birthday) had just completed Y4 in the UK and the school wanted to put her in Y3. I didn't really understand the school system when we first got here so I pushed for her to be put in Y4 as it already meant repeating 2 terms of a school year that she had already done. She has easily kept up with the academic side of things as I feel that UK school are ahead at this stage however as she is getting older (currently Y7). I'm more concerned about the social aspect as most of her peers will turn 13 this year and she isn't even 12 yet. She seems to have made friends with girls whose birthdays fall in Jan-May so are nearer her age. I think it may become even more apparent when she is at high school. I asked the high school that we are planning to send her to if she could repeat Y7 rather than move into Y8 and was told that now she is in the Australian system, they won't allow this. I think my daughter was quite relieved by this answer....!

Does seem a bit strange that you would pay less AND have it delivered to your door I might try PSS next time!

Yes you are right. After reading your post, I checked my documents and I can see that I paid a Port Service Charge of $214.50 - I had to go to the port and collect the boxes myself but that wasn't a problem. I also paid $107 to the Department of Agriculture for a quarantine inspection - I think this was because we had some camping gear and shoes in the boxes

I used voovit.com https://voovit.com/home

I shipped 3 boxes totalling 90kg to Adelaide in 2015 with Voovit and paid £155 They came by ship though and took 3 months

I use Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Face Lotion SPF 50+ as my everyday moisturiser in summer. I can't stand having that greasy feeling on my face and this one is great https://www.priceline.com.au/neutrogena-ultra-sheer-face-sunscreen-lotion-spf50-88-ml?gclid=CjwKCAiAlfnUBRBQEiwAWpPA6fDuWeT1yRQDf4yhUYnyMtFvJ5Eh3gcEG8rJM4wftjb9nkb7iS9yphoC7VMQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I agree with everything that Snifter has said about Bristol. If we were to leave Australia that would be my first choice of location back in the UK. I spent part of my childhood south of Bristol (in the Cheddar area) then moved away for Uni and then Paris for 10 years. I moved back to Bristol and lived in Clifton and loved it but it is pricey. All the areas mentioned in the previous posts would be lovely areas to live and Bristol airport is easily reachable for trips to Europe etc Good luck with your move