KBear

This is an interesting point. I have often wondered how much parents who want to emigrate have thought about this. They also need to bear in mind that it is very expensive to move house here, much more so than in the UK. I know our children have their own lives and there is a risk in following them, however, do you think that the children have some sort of responsibility towards their parents once they have moved to follow them? After all, they must have encouraged the move and sponsored them. I find myself in a similar situation now. It was mainly our son-in-law who drove the move and our daughter actually said to us she only wanted to move if we and her brother could also go. So we had a grand plan for all of us to emigrate to Queensland where I have a sister and family. On arrival here sil was offered a job in WA and so that's where they were when we arrived. They were in the process of building so we thought they were pretty settled. This all fell through and they went to work in Africa so we moved to Qld to be near family here. Although they are now back in WA their next move is uncertain. I know they have to go where the work is and my daughter has to go with her husband but I will probably end up on my own here now as my husband is terminally ill. Yes, my sister and family are here but they have their own lives and are still working so we don't actually see them that often. So I am seriously considering moving back to the UK as I have always been a bit homesick, although I don't really have anyone there, our son is in Europe. I am beginning to wish I had never hear of Australia. I would not have moved here if I had known how things would turn out.

I am wondering if the high numbers of overseas students studying in Australia reflect the fact that many of them obviously use this as a route to gaining permanent residence here. One agent who posts regularly on here pointed out that there are huge numbers of students from overseas on accountancy courses and many of them have no intention of working as accountants. However they can gain several extra points due to the fact of having studied at an Australian institution getting up to 80 points in some cases. This gives them a great advantage over applicants outside Australia who can never achieve such a high score when it comes to being invited to apply for a visa as those with the highest points get invited, but doing nothing to alleviate the acute shortage of skilled accountants in Australia. I have a relative who is a highly qualified, skilled and experienced accountant desperate to move to Australia but he doesn't stand a chance of getting invited.

No, sorry you are mistaken. The 173 is the temporary contributory parent visa. The 143 is a permanent visa. You are free to purchase whatever property you like without restrictions.

I do feel for you and can understand completely where you are coming from. I am so sorry that you are being treated badly by your sons. Unfortunately my husband is not well and I will have to face the same situation as you before too long. I am fortunate that my family are very supportive but they do not live locally. We thought about going back to the UK ourselves until my husband became ill and I half considered doing it alone but don’t know whether I would be able to do as I also don’t really have any family left there, I do have a son in Europe but don’t think he will stay there, Your post has made me think again. It does take a lot of courage to make such a big move at our age and I wish you all the best. Please keep us posted.

You could try having a look at the application form which will give you an idea of what you need to provide. https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/forms/documents/47pa.pdf