FirstWorldProblems

I don’t remember giving access to my medical records when I submitted my partner visa earlier this year. You are required to attend a medical appointment which usually includes a general medical examination, a chest x-ray and blood tests. You may be asked to complete additional medical examinations depending on your medical history.

I have and compared to the U.K. they are huge. Granted I drive an obnoxiously large car here in the U.K. but if I was a fatty I wouldn’t have a hope of getting out of the thing down at Sainsburys.

It’s worth considering other NHS treatment options. The NHS isn’t one organisation, rather it is a federated group of healthcare providers commissioned by NHS England and providing care under a common framework. The service provision, availability and quality of each of those providers does vary for a multitude of reasons and if your husband has had a poor experience there are options other than moving overseas. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-nhs-choice-framework/the-nhs-choice-framework-what-choices-are-available-to-me-in-the-nhs#:~:text=You can ask to be,is led by a consultant “If you’re unhappy with the handling of your case, it’s often helpful to speak to the organisation responsible for arranging your care and treatment in the first instance. If you feel that the organisation responsible for arranging your care and treatment has not taken all reasonable steps to ensure you’re offered alternative provision, in most cases you should complain to your ICB as they must take all reasonable steps to ensure that an alternative provider is offered to you. For details on how to contact your ICB, see section 11 of this guide.”

Only in ParleyWorld™

Certainly this is the case in NSW, don’t know about the rest of the country……. All of the major suburban roads have had lanes added over the years as traffic increased. At many points along the road a natural land feature will mean there isn’t space for the extra lane so 3 will go back to 2 for a moment, or 2 back to 1. And it’s the LEFT lane that has to merge into the right. So human nature being what it is, most people ignore the left lane (and all the signs saying Keep Left) and camp out in the next lane. So frustrating. Like you say, it’s the little things.

Thanks for sharing this. As a U.K. HSBC customer your post got me wondering if I can set up a HSBC Australia account from the U.K. I just did it online from my phone in 15 mins and thought I would share in case it helps anyone else. Very easy to do. You need a form of ID that you can take a photo of, your employer address and your UTR (unique tax reference - will be on your tax return or tax code document).

I'm amazed such people ever bothered to get on the plane - miserable buggers. That said.........lol.........Bondi is overrated (it's nice but it is overrated, Coogee next door is better IMO) and the Opera House close up in the daytime is less impressive than at a distance or lit up at night.

It’s a very fair and logical point to make. If I might play devils advocate for a moment, has anyone ever visited Australia from the U.K. on a holiday and NOT been impressed? You’re in holiday mode, you’re excited about a potential change, the sun is shining, you don’t have to fight Sydney traffic at 0700 etc etc. I don’t think any kind of trip is going to give a person a sense of living there. So is there really any value in such trips? just a thought.

I engaged migration agent @paulhand to advise and guide me through my options and the process. It was really helpful. I was also trying to get the timing just right - finding that sweet spot where the visa would arrive before I needed it, but late enough that I wouldn't have to ever get into the RRV situation. Paul gave me a really thought provoking piece of advice - right now you are in great health and your visa application is going to sail through, but it's a reality that as we get older, our risk of health conditions increases and if you are unlucky enough to get one that disqualifies your application, then that's it. I duly got on it straight away. RRV is much easier to deal with than a declined application.

If you are referring to the excerpt from my letter that I posted above then you are mistaken. I wasn’t in Australia. 309/100

Here's an excerpt from my grant letter. Perhaps others vary, but I don't know why they would The expectation is that you become a citizen before you visa expires. One of the qualifying criteria is 4 years of residency. After the five years I can still stay in Australia, even if I am not yet a citizen, but if I want to leave the country, then in order to get back in I'd need an RRV. If a person has substantial ties to Australia (job, house, family) it's trivial. You can explore the detail of all this at https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/.

Yes that's pretty much all correct. The time it takes to get a decision depends on overall volumes of applications, your circumstances and the quality of your application. Someone like me with 22 years married to an Aussie, dependant children, mutual wills and power of attorney, 60 pieces of uploaded evidence, etc etc is probably going to be quicker than a person who's been in a relationship for a year, separate bank accounts and no common friends. From what you've shared your situation sounds pretty strong so I'd be surprised if you have to wait too long, but for a better guestimate you'd want to hear from a migration agent of timelines for similar, recent cases.

Awesome. Congratulations

Yep. I did mine myself. 50+ hours of work went into a fully loaded application. 60 or so pieces of evidence. Grant was 5 weeks later - could have been less if I hadn’t waited a few weeks to get the medical done.

Awesome. That’s a great price. Who are you flying with? Hope you have a great time. I’ve been keeping an eye on fares at Easter just out of curiosity and they are much closer to normal now. £1,500 with Singapore but there is one particular set of dates during the holidays at £1,150.

Whats next Rob? Do you have a timeline for the big move?

Hi Claire, I can see why you would be struggling with such a decision. Living in another country for a while is a great adventure and would be an experience that broaden your kids horizons, which can be a great thing. On the flip side of that coin you have two completely different education systems that don't align in content nor in terms of the children's age when they achieve the recognised qualifications, meaning they are not interchangeable. I've had two kids go through GCSE's with a third entering her final year now. Our choice has been to delay our return to Australia until the youngest finishes A-levels. From our research we came to the conclusion that it would be damaging for our kids education to switch systems mid-way through. The curriculums aren't the same. GCSE's spend two concentrated years building towards those final exams. The content of those exams are the topics covered across those two years. It's possible but unlikely that those exact topics will have been covered by the Australian system resulting in knowledge gaps. I personally think it would be a real struggle to drop back into GCSE's for the final year only and get decent grades. You know your kids best and their academic ability. It could be that a bright kid with a strong work ethic and a tutor could get to a good result. If it was me (and assuming I am correct in thinking your kids are 3 academic years apart), I'd be staying in Australia until the eldest gets their HSC/ATAR at 17 and returning to the UK just in time for the youngest to begin GCSE year 1. However......if your eldest wanted to go to university they would not be recognised as having 'home' status (because you must be resident for the 3 years prior) and thus would have to pay higher fees. There are other options like the international baccalaureate, but from exploring this myself, this considerably narrows your school options and hence where you can live. A difficult decision with pro's and con's each way.

When they paid that money in they expected to be allowed to retire at 65. That’s changed. It wouldn’t be all that hard to build a media campaign to get support for this would it? Something along the lines of “people who retire in the U.K. put 100% of their pension back into the economy by spending their money here, benefiting us all. Those drawing money from the U.K. public purse whilst living elsewhere are hurting patriotic Brits by giving that money to foreign economies, weakening Glorious Britain”.

According to Google the avg annual return over the past 10 years for super is 7.5% so @Parley is right, $500k becomes $1m in 10 years without any extra deposits.

Thank you. I spent 6 months in neighbouring Five Dock and would go back there in an instant if it was affordable. It somehow managed a small town feel despite being close to the CBD. I will go look at the ones you mentioned, see if I think we can stretch to it.

What a great day out

We know life in Australia isn't better than life in the UK - it's just different. Nit picking differences between two really good countries really is @FirstWorldProblems. But for me there are some things that are just better in Australia and as our 2026 move gets closer these are things I'm excited to take advantage of and stay focussed on. Sydney is a breathtakingly pretty city. No matter how bad things were at work or with life, catching a ferry to and from Circular Quay always left me chilled and happy. Most winter days are around 20 degrees at some point - warm enough to be able to spend the weekend outdoors in shorts and a t-shirt Blue skies. Even though there's 50% more rain in Sydney than where I live, there are nowhere near as many days where it's just cloudy all day/week/month. A blue sky makes everything look better and makes me feel better Lebanese parties. The wife has a big, big extended family. There's a wedding or another reason to party every few months and the Lebbo's know how to party. Everyone gets up to dance the dabke, the sound of the drums and the spectacularly over-the-top bride and groom entrance - all wonderful. Having a pool and the weather to use it. We''ll be early 50's when we move back and if we're lucky there will be grandchildren before too many years pass. I love the idea of goofing around with them in the pool every visit. Al-fresco dining for most of the year. We love to eat outside. Proximity to Asia. I'm really looking forward to taking holidays in a part of the world that we have not explored yet. I'm going to make a really nice outdoor entertaining space with an outdoor kitchen area. Somewhere we really enjoy being. Exploring somewhere new. I don't know what suburb we'll end up in, but it's almost certainly going to be somewhere we don't know well, or at all. I'm looking forward to exploring every street, and reserve on our walks or on my runs I'm looking forward to joining a triathlon club to help me make new friends, learn where the best runs, rides and swims are and exploring all of those. There are some great looking coastal walks that I am keen for us to do of an evening or weekend. Enjoying the epic scenery on those early evenings when the weather is warm but not uncomfortable hot. Bunnings. Bunnings is great. I was wearing my Bunnings cap today when I went down to Homebase - which just doesn't compare. OK B&Q is probably better but I don't have one nearby Parking spaces that modern day cars actually fit into Seeing my wife re-connect with her family. They are close and annual visits just aren't the same. Giving all that up to support me for >20 years was incredibly selfless. I look forward to seeing how much joy she gets out of being back with them all. This is a very personal list that compares our life in a Warwickshire town to life in the big city. What aspect of day to day live is better for you in Australia?

For some people, what we need periodically is a change. For me, and I've observed this in some others too, an opportunity to shrug off the weight that accumulates on our shoulders gradually from life's hassles, challenges, stresses and occasional disappointments has a re-energising effect. Starting again (be it migration, new job etc) is a reset. It probably won't be any better or any worse, but it will be fresh and different and invigorating.

Nurse! Can I have whatever you gave him please. I could do with a holiday from reality.

I don’t think so. I did my visa medical earlier this year and there was no fitness test nor movement test.