safarichick

We moved from the UK to Townsville nearly 5 years ago and love it here.  My oldest daughter did her Nursing Science degree at JCU and now works at TUH in Neonatal.  There is a rental crisis pretty much everywhere but equally as bad here in Townsville.  If you need more information on the area let me know

On 23/07/2021 at 18:04, Blue Flu said:

It's still a way off two or three years. Lots can happen over that time. But I've been in contact with real estate up in Cairns after viewing some desirable property in the Northern Beaches. Great price compared to prices in a similar location in Perth, but hard to compare as obviously very differerent in so many ways. I have lived in Cairns during the ninties and mostly enjoyed it . The hospital there does not have a high reputation though. Also best be aware of less desirable areas and social issues that persist. 

But when borders open, a nice international buzz, perhaps too many tourists at times but does give another demension to the city that I enjoyed. With lockdowns and the like, I couldn't get over there to view in person so missed out on the property that looked and sounded ideal. Certainlly would not purchase without sighting though. Not just the house, but neighbourhood and like. 

Good luck with your intended move to Cairns. It has quite a different vibe to elsewhere in Australia. Odd how Townsville 'down the road' is so different and less desirable IMO .  

I've lived in Townsville for four years, humidity high but not as bad as Cairns.  I wouldn't say Townsville is less desirable, we are after all closer to the Whitsundays.  Same amount of crime here and Cairns plus Townsville University Hospital is a level 5/6 specialist hospital

We came over on the Lateral Transfer Scheme back in 2017.  My husband was in the British Army.  There is a Facebook page for Laterals moving over https://www.facebook.com/groups/112038224332

You'll need to answer a few questions to join as as it's a private group and then you'll get all the info you'll need

5 hours ago, LMT said:

Thanks glad to hear from someone with a teenager in the same situation.

That's my intention, giving him a couple of months in Year 10 to adjsut before hitting Year 11 & 12.

How has your daughter settled into life in Australia?

My son has been 4 times for holidays, yet i think holidays are always different to "real life" he is very keen to go, we have a lot of family there.

He has not once said he doesn't want to go, and he says i am fretting about him making friends he's not worried at all about that.  I think i might have a dilemna on my hands if he had a girlfriend!!!

My husband and I are keeping our fingers crossed he doesnt find a love interest in the UK between here and now!!!  We did jokingly say to him don't get a girlfriend until you get to Australia!!!......

Would be keen to hear how your daughter is getting on..

She had a rocky start settling in.  She was missing her UK friends plus got chatting to a boy before we left and he was feeding her all sorts.  A few months after moving she changed schools due to some bullying which knocked her confidence.  Fast forward 2 years, she graduates this week gaining her QCE, passed her driving test 3 months ago and is totally loved up for over a year with the boyfriend.  She has a part time in a cafe and is just waiting to hear if she's been successful in a traineeship with the Council.  I know a few older teenagers who moved back to the UK after only a couple of months of being here due to leaving a boyfriend behind in the UK that they had only recently met, so make sure he does not get a girlfriend before you leave, a game changer!!!!!

On 02/11/2019 at 09:24, LMT said:

Thank you for your replies.

I have rang the home affairs on in Australia, and they have confirmed my husband does not need me accompanying him to enter. ( I will already be there.)  As they explained it is "his" visa to enter and does not require me to be there.  I would be going before my husband as mentioned to get my son started in the school system. My son will finish  his GCSE's Year 11 at the end of the school year here in the UK in July 2020. I will not remove him from the UK system until the GCSE's are completed.  I will look  into the syllabus for SA as that's where i come from and are going to.

I have explained to my son that if he starts school in September 2020 in Adelaide, i would expect due to age and year differences to the UK , he would do the final year term of year 10, then in January 2021 he would start year 11 and carry on from there. I think this would also help him ease into Australian school life to do the last term in Year 10.  He's not really happy to do year 11 again but have said he will have a huge advantage of being very familiar with year 11 coursework and possibly have an advantage to making Year 11 in Australia less stressful. I think to go into year 12 would throw him completely off balance.  He is an August baby he's always been youngest in his class. He will still not be 16 even when finished his GCSE's. But that's another issue of the UK school system and summer born children.......i will not digress.

It's tricky i wish we had planned to go a bit earlier in his schooling but we only made a final decision in  March this year after much thought. Funnily enough it has been me delaying the move for years, because i had not reconciled leaving the UK, after 20 years here. But after another visit back home early in the year i was then convinced i was ready to go home.

The pet's are a massive expense but essential to our family feeling complete. Some may say we are mad but pet owners who have taken theirs will know what i mean.

I feel like my pets should be in business class for the cost involved!!!! 

 

We moved over Oct 2017.  My youngest daughter turned 16 end of Aug 17 having just finished her GCSEs.  We are in QLD and put her into Y10 for a couple of months then in Jan 2018 she started Y11 to do her QCE.  With the new ATAR system it is a 2 year course so your timeline for your son sounds good.

16 hours ago, Daryn said:

Hi GSB17,

What was the eventual outcome with your visa application?  I am currently serving in the British Army but have applied for a SC190 PR visa (sponsored by NSW).  The only bit of documentation I haven't yet submitted is the Certificate of Service which I expect the case officer to request (when we are eventually contacted by one). 

My understanding is that you cannot be granted PR in Australia if serving in the British Army.  Fine, but the visa is not 'activated' until we step foot in Australia, something we have 1 year to do after being 'granted' the visa.  So my thinking is that my last day in the Army is 2 Aug 2020, therefore theoretically if I was granted the visa today, I would have between 2 Aug and 21 Aug 2020 to arrive in Australia.

I guess what I am trying to establish is whether the visa can be granted now or have I wasted a shed load of money?

Grateful for your thoughts,

Daryn.

Hi Daryn, my husband was military, we came over as part of the lateral transfer scheme on a 186.  Timeline - Pressed the magic button Oct 16, applied for visas Dec 16, granted Apr 17, arrived in Oz Oct 17.  We provided proof of signing off and when his last day in the British Army would be.  He also obtained a printout of service from JPA.  For us it may have been easier as he had a contract from ADF to upload as well.

10 hours ago, The Pom Queen said:

Sorry to hear the floods caught you out. Where in Townsville do you live? We had a house in West End. My son in Douglas and one in Annandale. Thankfully their houses were saved but the youngest decided to go out in his car of all things to help people the night the dam wall was opened and ended up stranded on the roof. 

 

Rosslea, on the golf course.  Idalia got a battering also.  How kind of your son to go and help others, even though he got caught up in it.  Hope he was able to claim on insurance for his car.  That night the dam gates open was horrendous, it was like a Tsunami effect.  Our house would have just escaped with water in the garage I reckon if the gates hadn't been opened fully but hey ho after 4.5 stressful wait for insurance to finally settle on my builder's quote instead of the ridiculous quote the insurance builder put in, my house should be ready to move back into early October.

Welcome to Townsville, we've been here nearly two years.  We did bring our BMW over, cost us in the region of $8k then just over a year later part of Townsville flooded and along with our house, we lost two cars.  If you buy private, please do your checks to make sure it has no finance on it etc and also look at getting contents insurance as soon as you have a house as you'll be arriving at the start of the wet season.  A few people I know got caught out in the floods where they had no insurance and lost a lot.  If you need any help, message away

On 02/03/2019 at 10:15, ali said:

It would be good to know what evidence your friends used for their children if they were all working full time - the information would be helpful

The family who moved over Oct 2018, their daughter was 20 at the time of visa application, living at home but working part time.  Unfortunately I'm no longer in contact with the other family as they moved back to the UK after only being in Australia for 2 months.  What I do know is that they were 21 and 25 at time of visa application and both worked full time and lived at home.  In fact the older one had previously been in the military.

When we applied for our 186 PR visa, my daughter was 19.  She worked part time and attended college and lived at home.  We just had to list what we provided for her, like food, board etc. I have friends who moved over to Oz around same time as me 2017 and 2018 whose adult children (the oldest being 25) all in full time work but living at home came with them.  All of them on a 186 visa

12 hours ago, Nemesis said:

Well I guess they found a way round it, but I just find it mind boggling that someone aged 21 or 25 and in full time work can prove dependency.

Still, I long since ceased to wonder at the logic applied by immigration. Maybe I should divorce my hubby, adopt him as my child and then try and sponsor him in that way, everything else has failed!

There's no logic at times.  My brother is desperate to join me but his choices are really limited as he is 50. Was considering the student route and did get an offer to study regional where I live but the fees are way too expensive.  Looked at last remaining relative visa, but his wife has family from where she is from.  Possible only route which would only be 2 to 4 years is the temp sponsor visa.

2 minutes ago, Nemesis said:

when were their visas actually granted?

The family who came over in 2017 was granted Aug 2017 and the family who came over a few months ago their visa was granted Jun 18.  I understand it changes all the time so the OP does need to get advice from a migration agent but at least there may be a glimmer of hope that her children can come on her visa

1 hour ago, NickyNook said:

And the family arriving in 2017 may not have come from the UK.

It's always been extremely difficult to prove dependency for adult children if you're coming from the UK as the existence of the benefits available to everyone means that no adult has to be dependent financially on their parents. 

Families with adult children coming from countries with no welfare find it much easier to prove financial dependency.

The family were from the UK, another family who I know arrived Oct 18  from the UK with their 21 year old daughter who worked but lived at home

I know of a family who came over to Australia end of 2017, their 21 and 25 year old came with them on their PR visa and both were working but lived at home.  You just have to prove they are still dependant on you.  When we came over end of 2017 my then 19 year old daughter was a student but also working part time.  She lived at home with us and we had to fill out a seperate form to upload to immi account  and give a break down on what we provided for her although we didn't have to upload any evidence.  Good luck

Hi Kitty, we are living in Townsville, if you want to be close to the hospital and city, then look at Annanadale, Idalia, Douglas, Rosslea.  All good suburbs.  Another just off the A1 is Bohle Plains. I would avoid Kelso, Rasmussen, parts of Kirwan, Currajong, Vincent all have high crime.

I had this problem when I applied for a full birth certificate and realised my middle name was never registered.  All my current ID, like driving licence passport, marriage certificate etc show my middle name.  I got my middle name officially added through one of those deed poll websites and uploaded the certificate to my immi account.  Case officer didn't come back asking for more information and visas were granted a few months later.

Hi All, We've applied under the Agreement Stream. Nomination was granted in Nov 16 and Visa submitted Dec 16. All documents uploaded including Police Checks and Medicals. Still showing as received. We are due to move over in October as that's when my husband starts his job. I haven't seen many post on here that are going through the Agreement Stream, is there any?

Hi All, We've applied under the Agreement Stream. Nomination was granted in Nov 16 and Visa submitted Dec 16. All documents uploaded including Police Checks and Medicals. Still showing as received. We are due to move over in October as that's when my husband starts his job. I haven't seen many post on here that are going through the Agreement Stream, is there any?