Cazza1404

Thanks for your reply @Rallyman, useful info. 

Cheers

Thank you @Rossmoyne, mum had a heart attack recently and although she is doing ok I really need to get back to help her with hospital appointments etc... I'm not sure they would class it as urgent? It's more a daughter/mum thing. 

I think we may head off after the ceremony and apply from the UK when we get there.  We can get the forms done here and take a trip to London within the 6 months that the form will be valid.  Bit of a pain and an extra cost but seems like it may be easier than sourcing doctors notes. 

In the middle of packing up a house, selling up and trying to wrap up work so plate is v full. 

Thanks for your advice

Hi @ScottieGirl Thanks for your reply.  I was just thinking the same thing, we may not need them for sometime so is there any point in hanging about for 3 weeks extra just to get the passport here?  I just looked up how to get a Au passport issued in the UK and it seems pretty straight forward, just involves a trip to London and bit of extra cash. 

Cheers

Well having to collect them certainly throws a spanner in my plan to leave after the ceremony and have them forwarded but it's great to get these insights so we can plan properly. It's the most frustrating process I have been through, there are only 10 people on the August ceremony (our council can hold up to 200 people) and it's only because immigration has a 'back log' that our names haven't been processed yet. Really desperate to get home to mum but I don't know when we will return so it's really important for us to get our citizenship.  We have 2 Aussie children, young now but may want to come and live here when they're older and it would be nice to be able to join them if we can. 

Thanks for taking the time to reply and let me know your experiences, Caroline 

Thank you, lots to try and get my head round. We have been waiting Since last December for our citizenship, it's such a lengthy process. 

Thank you  

Thanks for your reply @Collie can I ask why you had to collect passports from Post Office? Is it just something they do with passports? Also how quickly did you get it back from posting off your application? 

Cheers

Thanks for your reply @VERYSTORMY  I have checked with our local council and they said they cannot hold a compassionate or one off ceremony without completing a request for an urgent ceremony application with the Department (and the Department is the determining authority). And we cannot "shop around" for a ceremony. 

Another thought I have is to post off our passport applications on 11th October, head off to the UK and have them forwarded to us from our home address in Lennox Head NSW whenever they arrive..... I guess we can leave Australia on British passports but wouldn't get back in without the Aussie one?  

I don't want to risk booking flights for the 4 of us without really knowing we have those passports in sight. 

Thank you

Hi Guys, 

We are getting set to return to UK and was really hoping for the August citizenship ceremony but it looks like that's not going to happen, next one is Tues10th Oct.  My question is, how quickly can we get our Aussie passports after the ceremony? Urgently need to head back as mum is unwell.

I am thinking, make a passport interview appointment on Weds 11th at the PO and ask for an express service which should mean we can collect our passports from Brissy on Monday16th October? 

Would anyone have any advice for me, 

Many thanks

13 hours ago, VERYSTORMY said:

When you have booked flights, speak to immigration about getting an urgent passport. When I did my citizenship, I had a passport the following day because I had a flight. I did the citizenship on the Thursday night, went to the passport office on the Friday morning and had a passport by lunch time for a flight on the Saturday morning.

However, it is impossible to say when you will get the ceremony. Though some councils will do a one off for a fee

Thanks @VERYSTORMY good advice. 

Hi @Collie thanks for your reply.  For now this is a permanent move back so we could get a passport when we're back in the UK.  I read that this would mean attending an interview at the embassy in London though?   I think we would be able to leave Oz on our UK passports, particularly on a one way ticket but it sounds like getting the Oz passport is the best idea. Just wish DIPB was able to give us more info re timeframes. Thanks 

Thanks @VERYSTORMY really helpful.  With regards to the passport application, did you hand it in to the passport office? Or go through Auspost interview? Is it a case of getting a paper application all but complete, then attending ceremony, then heading straight to passport office? This could work for us, thanks. 

Hi guys, 

We need to return to UK as quickly as possible but are mid way through our citizenship application, we sit the test on 17th May and are really hoping to get on the Aug 8th ceremony. The problem is, we need to leave asap (9th Aug) after the ceremony which won't allow time to apply for an Australian passport. My questions are:

Can my partner and I leave on a one way ticket on our UK passports?

If not, what would your best advice be to speed up the passport application process? 

Thank you, I have trawled forums to get an answer but have no clear cut info so hoping someone here is in the know. 

On with ours now @Quoll. our kids were born here but we need to sit the test.

@lou556 i can relate to your situation completely. Im ready to go but OH worried about work and house prices and loves his life here in oz. It's a tricky situ gor sure.

How far have you explored renting your house out, I'm thinking the same but just can't get my head around it. It would be nice to go home with some money but great to have the house hear if things don't work out?

It may be the only way I can convince OH to go though, knowing we have house to come back to if needed.

Keep in touch

With hindsight no - unless you make other changes in your life - move from a city to the country, change careers, give up working or whatever - then your life in Australia will be pretty much the same as it is now - maybe in the summer instead of going over to friends for dinner you may go over for a BBQ, perhaps instead of a walk in the woods you'll go to the beach on a Sunday morning but nothing that makes any real difference to your quality of life. If you want to change how you live your life there are far easy ways than moving 10,000 miles!

 

There are a few professions, mostly public sector (teachers, nurses etc.) and trades that do seem to be better off in Australia - the unions have a bigger role to play so working conditions tend to be better and the demand means salaries are better plus the greater prevalence of private schools and healthcare presumably makes a difference.

 

If you are going to be significantly worse off financially then there honestly seems virtually no point in going. The weather is not better, it is just different - my experience in Perth was I ended up hiding indoors just as much in the Summer because it was too hot as I do in the winter in Scotland - if anything more so as the right clothes can cope with the cold but Air Con is the only way to escape the heat. And the cold in the winter may surprise you! The houses are built to be cool and without central heating are hard to get comfortable - open plan is the norm, which I love, but again isn't conducive to keeping warm. You acclimatise too so 25 degrees no longer feels warm - I remember us abandoning a picnic because we were 'too cold' at that temperature! Once you buy/build your own place it isn't so bad but when you're renting it can be a nightmare - our first rental had no air con/heating and the second did but it was so ancient and inefficient the one month we put it on (bearing in mine we were out all day at work) our electricity bill was $400!

 

I was not the one that was behind our move to Australia and I really questioned my OH's motivation - given what he wanted to achieve I suggested an alternative of buying a place in the French alps and spending all school holidays there - our work allows us to take time off if we want as we are both self-employed. He now deeply regrets not taking that option!

 

Given you are pregnant I would say make no decisions for at least 18 months - I know in the first year after having my son i made some decisions that with hindsight weren't the best ones - although I think the first is maybe more life-changing than the 3rd but hormones still have a part to play.

 

Perhaps take a 'year out' and have a 'working holiday' in Australia like students do - I don't regret going but I do regret going with the view that it was 'forever' - i wish we'd just gone for a years adventure - I felt like that was unfair on my son but actually I think he has benefited from what turned out to be a 5 year adventure

@ladyrainicorn I really agree with your last comment. I am now regretting moving to oz with such a permanent outlook. for us, if we went back, I would view it as a 10 year adventure. I have nothing bad to say about oz, but sometimes its just time to move on and change things up.

I think what you are experiencing is quite normal, having children connects us with our own families and childhoods and it is natural to want to be back there if it was a good experience.

 

The tricky thing is knowing whether the fantasy will be matched by the reality & actually a 6 week holiday can make it even harder to know. A lot of people experience when they go back for a holiday that everyone is delighted to see them, chores and regular commitments are put to one side and of course you're not working, have a bit of money to spend etc. and everyone has a wonderful time. So in your mind that's exactly what it would be like if you moved back and the reality for some people is that life has moved on for everyone whilst they were away - & 10 years is a long time & they don't quite fit back in. The reality is you can never go back, it will be different than it was before - knowing whether that is something better than you have is the difficult part.

 

I spent 5 years in Australia, illness was a significant part of my decision, not quite as serious as other people on this thread but i was diagnosed with RA and put on a strong cocktail of drugs including a chemotherapy drug. It made travel difficult as with my immune system suppressed I picked up anything going. on a trip back to the UK I ended up hospitalised and that was really the turning point in moving back (it honestly hadn't crossed my mind before then). Rather than having a great time on holiday, I had the worst time ever but I had people around me truly caring in a way that I didn't in Australia.

 

It's the 'who would I call at 3am?' question and in Australia I really had no-one.

 

If your husband doesn't want to go then it makes it much harder - sadly I have seen a number of marriages break up on these pages and many more brought to the brink. I tend to think the home country should take presidence if one person isn't happy after migrating but after 10 years Australia really is your home country and I think you need to approach it as you would if you fancied moving somewhere completely new - what the costs and benefits are to you all as a family.

 

On the practical side, school will be no problem although you will have to either pay a premium to live in a catchment area of a good school (that even then doesn't have to take you if they are full) or pay much, much higher fees for a private school than you would in Australia. My son was 10 when we moved back and just this week he said how easy it had been to make friends because he was different because he had an Australian accent - that tends to be a common experience.

 

We consider renting out our house for a year just to be sure but the stress is probably not worth it, we rented out a house in the UK and our experience there probably coloured our view but if after a year you didn't want to move back selling it from the other side of the world wouldn't be plain sailing and it would be devalued by being on the rental market. We decided it was just a house and if we decided to move back we'd buy another one - or even build the same one somewhere else since we designed it!

 

Weather - I'm not sure I can cope with another PIO debate on that here! Of course you'll get wonderful crisp Autumn days, you'll also get grey wet and windy ones! Overall I probably prefer the weather in Scotland to Perth but it's a toss up.

I understand your comment about the hassle of renting our house out here, makes sense. Also, there is no one I would call at 3am here, and no one I would ask to mind my kids in an emergency without feeling really bad. Big things to think about.

Your perpective is real, there will be crappy days wherever you are and struggles. I agree there is no 10/10 place on earth, I guess it's just what components are important to you. I think my number 1 is the belonging and the old, true connections.

I know 10 years is a long time but i have kept in close contact with several mates where i know i would slot back in. My mum is great mates with their mums, have been all our lives so all us kids are really tight. Different for my partner, he's rom a different part of the city and feels his old connections just aren't there.

Thank you

I just jumped on your charity's website and see that you've been nominated for a Pride of Australia medal! It's really good to know that there are fundamentally decent people in the world, especially after what's happened this week in the states. Thanks for the reminder, it's actually made me a little emotional!

 

I can't help with any advice on your dilemma but have sent your charity a small donation. All the best with your decision x

Hi @robfromdublin and thank you so much for your kind words and donation. Yes, I received the nomination last month and was blown away. I know my charity is making a huge difference to many lives but this just makes my decision even harder.

I feel very responsible that i have started something people rely on, I absolutely love my work, I have huge plans for Heartfelt Homes but when all said and done, when i sit down at night, I am missing so many connections. It's another layer of complication but I wouldn't do anything drastic, I would look to get help to continue the service and maybe I could leave and be very proud of what was acheived in oz?

Confused.com

Sorry to all if I'm not replying properly, just figuring the buttons out. I eally do appreciate your thoughts and advice, thank you

The charity sounds a wonderful idea @Cazza1404 you will have to let me know more info as most of the people I have met in hospital have been rural and struggled, most like us have had to sell up and move closer. Although I suppose our 3 hour round trip still isn't close but it's better than a flight down all the time and going through everything alone as your children still have to go to school.

We hail from Yorkshire too, though not necessarily going back there. Whereabouts are you from?

We're from Leeds

H sues,

We don't have private health care here, everything was done public. Back home i would imagine NHS would pick up where we leave things. He's checked every 6 months now, they're onitoring a couple of small lumps but don't eem worried. We have been very lucky.

He was off work for 2 years, hes a srlf employed builder so it crippled us financially. No sick pay. I founded a charity whilst going through our nightmare (yes im crazy!!!) but i saw a huge need for accommodation for regional and rural families with a loved one in hospital far from home, and also saw an awful lot of empty hotel rooms.

So I started a charity, raised money and started buying empty hotel rooms near cuty hospitals, 3 years on it is winning awards and has become an essential service through several city hospitals. Problem is, it doesn't pay me hardly anything, for 2 years I worked voluntary. I absolutely love my work but now, even that isnt enough for me.

OH work is picking up again now, he doesnt want to be back on building sites in the uk in -5degrees which i can understand.

His life insurance would be the trickiest thing, as we had a policy already here, we had to amend it, premiums went up but what can you do? Not sure he would get covered in uk?

We have some equity in our house, enough for a decent deposit back home. I would rather rent back home and keep house for a yesr though incase we decided to pong or ping??? What would your advice be. We could almost cover mortgage from rent. but no, we could not buy over there and keep here.

I am a hairdresser by trade but have been thown into the corporate/not for profit world for the last 3 year where i have gained some incredible experience, I have absolutely no idea how my CV is going to read!

Thanks Quoll, I like how you put that. 'Moving on' rather than 'going back'.

Yes, thats my hurdle for surr, made worse by having such a top bloke who would do anything to make me happy. He said it would be easier for him to move back than me live here this unhappy. This isn't a done deal though as I have to consider his life and my kids and really know that uprooting our life here is best for all. could be a disaster if i end up the only happy one.

Tough decisions ahead, lots more talking and compromising.....

Can i ask how your actual move was? I know it would be hard work but did you rent/sell a house in oz, ship a car or container and how was it finding a place to rent/buy back home?

Thanks Quoll

Thanks so much for your advice. Its hard for me not to push the holiday into a reccie but you're right, the smarter thing to do would be to let him just see the support and love we have there.

Life gets tough when illness strikes, I can understand how your decision would be a tough one too. Hope it works out for us both

Thanks verystormy, I agree. We have sat down and both given our reasons for staying/going. it breaks my heart as I can see how devastated he is to even think about moving back. He can't talk anymore at the mo as he doesn't want it to 'be real'. It has come as a shock to him as I have always been such an oz fan.

We met on the way out here, we were both emigrating independently so neither had to push the other and i honestly never thought this day would come but it has, I'm a mum now and have been through some big stuff out here. I need my people around me going into 50's 60's and beyond and I'm very lucky to have great mates at home and a beautiful mum.

Thank you for your advice

Thank you suesmalls. I am hoping the exact same thing, that OH can see a life back there on our trip home. its not til next Easter but it should come round soon enough.

We are from Yorkshire so I know it won't take long to find a good pub and fish n chips...... cannot wait!!!

I'll et you know how we go, keep everything crossed that yorkshire steels his heart again