FirstWorldProblems

@MrsPOB Your message footer is the greatest!!!

That’s interesting. In what way?

My 309/100 was approved earlier this year so I have some recent relevant experience 1) no, you apply for both together. There's no separate application nor separate cost. Most often in straightforward cases they get approved together. 2) I spent £5,400. The application is the bulk of it. Then medicals, police checks etc. 3) I spent almost 50 hours completing the application. It was approved 6 weeks after submission and might have been quicker if I hadn't sat on my hands for several weeks after being asked to submit medical checks. 3a) you have to travel to Australia within a year to activate your visa. You can literally fly in and fly out if you wish. 3b) 5 years from grant. There might be complications around Resident Return Visa if you haven't lived in Australia for 2 years prior to the end of the 5 but doesn't seem like a material issue. 4) I don't think so. It's a partner visa, not a prospective marriage visa.

Better than sky scanner is Google flights. It’s much more flexible, including having a flight calendar so you can see at a glance the impact of changing combinations of inbound/outbound dates. But the best feature is the ability to enter multiple airports. When I fly I start with google flights and a search for flights from Birmingham, east mids, “all london” and Manchester. You get lots of results. Then I go to the airline I want and book there. I’ve been booking direct with airlines for 20 years without issue.

Yeah me too. They don't make it easy. After sitting down one weekend over the Christmas break to get my application started, I was disheartened to realise I'd spent 14 hours filling in the application (spouse visa) and collecting evidence and it felt like I wasn't half way through. So I started noting down the time spent on it. 49 hours in total. Good luck to you. Hope it works out well and goes smoothly

Apologies for going off on a tangent. But how would the ATO know about a person's UK financial activity? I understand you probably have to answer questions about it on a tax return and it would be a crime to withhold the information and morally wrong etc. But how would they actually know? I'm not suggesting anyone do anything wrong, I'm just curious.

I can only share my own experience. I’m absolutely positive I didn’t submit all my travel. I pieced together what I could from old passport stamps but I didn’t have access to any travel booking info for past employers. I did about 6 work trips a year. No way I remembered then all and definitely not the right dates. I did the best I could and no questions were asked. Visa was approved.

great idea - son and I both used to do Thai Boxing. I stopped not long after receiving a TKO from a 20-something in the first round.....put me in my place!

I also can't comment on the legal position, and it is sensible for you to look into that rather than have a nasty surprise. I can share my experience. Over the last 20 years my wife has travelled from the UK at least 3 times without me and never been asked a question about it. She would have been travelling on an Australian passport and the kids on UK passports. She had a return ticket each time. ONE time we did get asked was on the way home in Sydney. We were both present and the youngest (then 11) was super upset at the emotional goodbyes with the family at the security gate and crying her eyes out. They gently but insistently questioned her about whether we were both her parents etc. Quickly dealt with.

Thanks everyone. Really appreciate the insights. Based on these and on flight availability/affordability, I’m honing in on Singapore on the way out and Hong Kong on the way back. Couple nights each. Still hard to get my head around just how much flights cost these days. The change is staggering. >£3k pp economy if you want to go 1 stop and <24hr door to door. Non refundable. That used to be £1,100 2 stop and >30hrs is £2k refundable or £3k premium economy.

Thank you. I will do some research today.

Ok fine. Not too old to do economy. Just too grumpy to be so uncomfortable. I was actually supposed to be trail racing today at the Long Mynd. It’s lashing down over there so I’m staying in bed instead! I am definitely keen to visit China. Wife not so much and the economy class reviews for those airlines aren’t great. Air China has business at £21,250 for the 5 of us…….it was <£11,00 when we booked for April 2020 (cancelled due to Covid) I’ll look into Bangkok- thanks,

Cool. I’ll check out the flight options thank you. We really like Singapore. It’s the only place we’ve ever stopped over and we’ve done it 4 or 5 times. Always happy to go back but it is nice to try somewhere different. Quick hotel search there last night was over £1k for 2 nights (2 rooms). Expensive world these days……

Mulling over flying from the UK to visit the family in Sydney for 3 weeks over Christmas and New Year (and to activate my visa). Business Class is eye wateringly expensive and I'm too old to do economy. Not much premium economy availability and having done it before a few time, it doesn't feel like great value. So we are now pondering going economy, but spending 48 hours each way enjoying a stopover somewhere. Any recommendations? 5 of us, youngest kid will be 16.

My error - I’ve watched one too many episodes of Border Security and got the wrong impression…..

Given how important getting this right is, I would urge you to spend a few hundred pounds and get professional advice. There are a few highly regarded agents here. I personally found Paul Hand to be very helpful. You wouldn’t want to get this wrong and do something that could have consequences for you 189 (like getting caught looking for work on a tourist visa).

Sorry, I don’t know. Mine went thru without any further interaction

How long has it been? If there was anything wrong with your application you’d hear about it. It’s just a waiting game for your application to hit the top of the pile

Pretty sure everyone does that. Some of us more than once a day! Entirely normal

If you read the stat Dec form it states right at the top of the first page: Note: If the visa applicant is outside Australia and is unable to have an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident complete this form, any person who knows the applicant and their partner or fiancé(e) may also complete this form.

Any recommendations on best cars to bring from UK @Iron Chef? I'll be buying new or nearly new early next year and will own for two years before our planned move back to Australia. I don't have anything particular in mind. Maybe another Velar or a Range Rover Sport. Perhaps embrace my mid-life crisis and get a Jag F-type. I'm weirdly drawn to the new VW ID Buzz long wheel base too. I would typically sell once 3 years old, 4 at the most, so would welcome your advice on anything that would get a good re-sale price. Thanks

Could you register your address as being at a U.K. friend or family members home? Would that prevent closure?

@Quoll is correct. GCSE’s run two years. Starting September when the child is aged 14/15 and concluding with final exams dropping in late June/early July when the child is 15/16. The school year is based on the child’s age as of 31 August. A-levels are the common next step. Also 2 years. The Australian system does not align to this at all, so moving with minimal disruption for education should take place before GCSE starts or after A-levels conclude. We are in that situation ourselves (though moving the other direction). I’ll share our personal experience (but of course this might just be us, not you)….. Son is now 18 and in the middle of his A-Level exams. Youngest daughter is in 1st year of GCSE’s. Plan is to move when she finishes A-level in 2026 2015-2021 Son (independent to any influence from us), always insisted he was going to uni in Australia and living with his nan. 2022 Son says he wants to consider UK and Aus Uni’s. But then only actually applies to U.K. ones. 2023 Son says “I think I’ll stay in the U.K. after uni. Just for a couple years to get some work experience.” 1 week later Daughter says “I’m going to Uni in the U.K. “ You might have been able to hear my wife yelling “no you will not” all the way from the other side of the world No idea how it will play out for us, but if I was you I’d make the move before your kids get into that phase of education, because as young adults they might have strong independent will and might refuse.

21st will be fine - the 28 days I was given started from receipt of the chaser letter, and you haven't had one of those yet so you've time.

Yes, back in February this year when I submitted by 309 application I received an automated and instant instruction to get my medical done. Because there are so few accredited centres and being a tight-arse, I wanted to wait until I was in London for work to get it done so I didn't have to pay the train fare out of my own pocket 24 days later they sent me a chaser message saying I had 28 days to provide the information requested. It stated that if I didn’t they could decide the application based on the info they had, so I cracked on with it bloody quickly.