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Hi PIO: I'm a new PIO member and do apologise if I'm in the wrong forum with my very first post. As you'll see, my story is a bit complicated, but I'll try to keep it as brief as possible. I would really appreciate any feedback you might be able to give after reading my story: -My husband and I (both English) were both 17 (although not known to each other at the time) when we first migrated to Oz in 1957. (My husband went to Sydney under the Big Brother Movement sponsorship scheme operating back then). -We met and married in Sydney in 1960, and our daughter was born there in 1961, soon after which we returned to England. -13 years later, with two young children (our son aged 11 was born in Manchester in 1963) we returned to Oz (South Australia) where we happily lived and worked full-time for most of the next 19 years. For personal family reasons (too sad to tell here) my husband and I returned to England in 1993. Still only having Permanent Residential status at the time (yes, we know it was a foolish oversight on our part not to have become Citizens after nearly 24 years living there by then, and we now regret it very much!), we were issued with 5-yr re-entry visas on leaving Australia. Just before these visas expired, 5 years later, for reasons that prevented us from returning to live there permanently at that time, we were granted a second 5-yr re-entry visa, for which we were very grateful. Another five years later, and still not being in a position to return to live in Oz, our second RRV expired about 8 years ago, and because we were told it wasn't possible to be granted a third, accepted that we'd lost our chance to return to live in the country we looked on as 'our second home', and regret to this day that we allowed it to happen. (Another story). Today, our (Australian) daughter (now 50!), and our two grown Australian grandchildren, still live in S. Australia (as well as our two sisters and their families, and all the many friends we made during the 24 (mostly) happy years of living there, and although we have all enjoyed occasional visits with each other over the years since our departure, we miss them so much and very much wish to return there to live, although, from research I've done lately about Aged Parent Sponsorship for migration to Australia, it seems unlikely, given the excessive costs and up-to-20-year wait for completion of application processes, we will ever be able to achieve that now, and feel very dispirited and extremely sad indeed about it. However, it has just come to my notice that it might just be possible for us to apply for permanent residency under a different category than the Aged Parent Sponsorship Scheme if we are able to provide evidence of compelling reasons for our long absence and of our close personal ties to Australia, which is my main reason for posting this thread to PomsInOz now, in the hope someone might just be able to advise us further and perhaps give us renewed hope that all is not lost. Any help and advice would be extremely welcome and we thank you in advance for taking the trouble to read my story. With grateful thanks. barbaitch

I'll start at the beginning but it could be a long one! I lived in Melbourne from aged 2 until my parents divorced when i was 13. My mum and i returned to Oldham in the UK. I am now married with 2 girls aged 16 and 11. I have always wanted to return to Australia, but having kids and buying houses there always seems to be something else to pay for. In 2005 my dad (who is still in Melbourne) offered to pay for us to come over for a month in the August. This would give me time to show my family around and decide what we wanted to do. It was the wettest and coldest august with snow and everything but we all loved the way of life. That was the start of our application. We returned and looked into how we could get there and discovered that because my parents had not got me citizenship when i was a child we could apply for a 47SV Former Resident Visa subclass 151. This involved us gathering evidence of my relationship with dad and other family and friends to show i still had close ties to Australia. It also said that i had to have returned and visited which i hadn't. We then discovered that my husbands naughty past was also in the spotlight. When he was a kid he got into a lot of trouble and went to Youth Offenders more than twice. We also found out that we should have declared this on our arrival card in 2005. We thought his convictions were spent. The good thing was he had not murdered anyone and that it was nearly 20 years ago. Back when the kids were younger i phoned agents in Australia - NONE of which frequent this forum - and was told that we did not stand a chance of getting in. Well, i don't know if i was just determined or just out to prove them wrong but in August 2008 we decided we had enough evidence to apply. I had letters from my old schools, photos of friends and family going back to me being 4 years old. I had phone bills from 2002. I jumped through every hoop or it felt like it anyway. We got references from higher standing people in our community regarding my husbands convictions and he did a 4 page letter explaining what went on. It took me 3 weeks to compile the application and it was not for the weak hearted. To be honest i could not have done this without the forums. I had decided not to use an agent for a few reasons, mainly that all those years ago noone had any faith in us. But when compiling the application i really did doubt this decision. I didn't have anyone to say i was doing the right thing or that everything would be alright. This was our one chance and i didn't want to blow it. I sent the application on the 10th of August by DHL and tracked it all the way to Canberra. 3 weeks later we didn't have an aknowledgement letter and i began to panic. I phoned Canberra and discovered that i had sent the wrong currency in my cheque!!! OMG could you believe it? The guy from immigration - D, was fantastic. He emailed me and told me he would keep hold of the application until i returned the cheque in $$$. DHL saved the day again and i tracked it all the way to D. I phoned him as arranged when it arrived and he took it to the correct section in residency. We had front loaded the policechecks and medicals as this was the advice on the visa application so the waiting began. Just off to the beach so will continue later :wink:

Hi, Bit of a dodgy question, my husband had alot of problems when he was younger, his mother threw him out at the age of 9 and inevitabley he got into the wrong crowd. They fed him and let him sleep in their cars etc, but in return it turned out that he had to do 'favours' for them. He hasn't got a record for violence or anything, just was made drive without a license (was made to take someone somewhere), he hasn't done anything since I've met him, married him and had kids (he didn't need to), the thing he was convicted of was back in 1997. Will this stop him from being allowed into the country? If so, how long would we need to wait? Thanks for any advice, this is my main concern and is stressing me out!

Can anyone provide any insight, I lodged a 176 sponsored by a family relative application a year ago to receive "Notification of invalid application" email. This is the relevant part of the response from DIAC: This application was made as an Internet application on 5 September 2010. Form 1277 was provided on 13 September 2010 however the sponsorship was entered into on Form 1277 after the day in which the application was made. As the applicant has not met the sub item requirement by providing Form 1277 at time the application was made, this application is invalid under Item 1135(3)(ca)

'We docked at Fremantle (sic) at 7am. When I got off the boat I walked up to the station with 2 guys - 1 Pom & 1 Kiwi. My case weighed a ton & I regretted packing so much stuff. We took the train to Perth & then a taxi to the YMCA - cost us $14 for a nite - 3 in the room. My first impressions of Perth are really good. I like it and I want to stay. I went for a drink in the evening - the first pub I was really scared of being called a "Pommie Bastard" by some drunk but it never happened and I relaxed after a bit.' It's not exactly Samuel Pepys, I know but I suppose I can take a few moments to reflect on what has happened to me! It's pointless to speculate on what 'MIGHT' have happened but I was the last person in the UK to have gone off on his own to the other side of the world! I probably should have stayed in my village and carried on with my cushy little job with Hants County Council where I would have chalked up 36 years service now. Struggling for work at 57 it makes sense now! Still, I suppose if I had not 'blazed the trail', my brother would not have followed me, and now he's got two lovely grown up 'little Vegemites!' and I am no longer a 'Stranger in a Strange Land!

Help I sent my application to TRA in Canberra 13th-Sept I've had no reply no conformation nothing I emailed them they replyed saying my email was forwarded to appropriate area on 30th Sept still nothing is this normal?:arghh:

Wonder if anybody can help me sort this one out. I had Hodgkin's Lymphoma about 4.5 years ago. My doctors are happy and they've told me that it is not usually the kind of cancer than comes back at this point (I do know that its never a certainty with cancer) So I have 2 questions really. 1. Will I have a problem passing the medical assessment as I am in good health at the moment. 2. Is there any way I can do the Health assessment first without risking the entire VISA fee on this one factor. Thanks in advance!

today, we left a very cold and wintry England to start our new lives in WA and I can honestly say we are so happy with the way things are panning out for us. Sure the first few weeks we had some rocky moments and it felt like we were just hemorrhaging money and everything seemed expensive. However; hubby got a job 4 days after we arrived and started a week later and is still there and doing well. He worked some bloody long hours some weeks 12 hr days 7 days a week (his choice, it wasn't expected but the chance of the overtime was there, so he took it)... These days he generally works 10 hours a day and half a day Saturday and that suits us. We rent a lovely house in Secret Harbour, have made loads of new friends and are experiencing the lifestyle we hoped we would have by making this move and certainly one, we couldn't have hoped to have in the UK. We've looked into buying, but atm the mortgage repayments are far higher than we rent for, so whilst we could afford the repayments, we wouldn't be able to "DO" anything, so we are holding off on getting back on the property ladder for a while longer. Kids have settled in well and making new friends all the time. We've just been on holiday to Sydney and Canberra to visit family and friends and whilst it was nice to have gone to Sydney and surrounds again, I am so glad we changed plans halfway through the visa process and decided to go to WA.... Sydney has changed so much in 10 years and it was just TOO fast paced for us now...lovely to visit, but wouldn't want to live there. I am definitely up for this slower pace of life that WA offers!!! I've learnt to shop around and get to know what represents good value (in the supermarkets etc) and now things don't seem so expensive anymore. I'm not working at the moment...the plan was to take a year off until our youngest starts pre-primary...but I'm starting to get itchy feet and fancy dipping my toes back into the workforce again...so am starting to look for p/t work but I am lucky that hubbys salary IS enough for a family of 4 to live off quite nicely, so no panic for me to find work. So my advice to anyone having doubts about whether to give up their UK life for the unknown or wondering if they can manage on one salary etc is to just give it a go... yeah the road will be rocky from time to time...but if you are prepared to put effort in then you can live the life you dream :smile:

..... We landed at Sydney Airport.... The Adventure had finally began. I have read many posts from those who's dream had already failed and were heading back. I see posts asking if Australia is a dream or a nightmare. Well in 12 months I have learned that Australia is far from perfect and it really does take a big mental shift to deal with it! Let you know more in 12 months...... L.L.

Hello, We left Oz a year ago, having spent 8 very enjoyable months in Sydney whilst I was on maternity leave. At the time we left because I couldn't find a job so we were better off coming back to the UK where I could go back to my pre-maternity job, but we always said we'd be back... now there seem to be more opportunities coming up I'm debating about whether to apply for a job, especially as there's a high chance of huge job losses in the next 6 months, but nobody seems to know yet, so just looking at Option B. When we left we had found Oz expensive but then the UK had been very cheap for a while, now that alot of things have gone up in price here & seem comparable, eg to the food prices when we left Sydney, I'm wondering wheter prices have stayed the same or also gone up as much as they have over here. I don't really want to be moving across the world to have to watch a every single penny every minute of the day. I'd be interested in peoples' opinions. Thanks

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Mr and Mrs Hitler had a romantic candle lit dinner, smoozy music on in the background, a sensuous meal, a nice bottle of wine, then made their way upstairs to have a cuddle, and BANG, young Adolf would arrive approximately nine months later.:realmad::no::no: Thank god this sort of tyrant is NO longer around,:yes: Wanna bet? :yes::mad::no:. Cheers Tony.:wink:

I am a social worker, completing the AASW form. It is asking for details o the placements I undertook whilst at college in 1995, placements, supervisors names etc! I cant remember what I did on the course to be honest and certainly dont know who my supervisor was. Im not asking to be assessed on this course. What to do? Aymie

Hello, Guys I have send PLE to DIAC 20 days ago but still I didn't get any replay from DIAC. shall I agin send PLE or call ASPC ORjust wait. Regard's jackd.:biggrin:

Hi We sent our visa 2 years ago and had another baby who is now 1 yr whom isn,t on the application. Has anyone been in the same situation I was just wondering what to do and how easy it is to add another little one. Thankyou so much for any info. Karen.

Today is our first anniversary of landing in Oz. We landed in Brisbane last year at about 8.30pm. Dashed to our holiday rental, ran down to the beach with a bottle of wine to watch the Sea World fireworks then fell into bed. What a year it has been! We so love our new life. It's all good. We are poorer than we were in UK, and I don't cope very well with the humidity but apart from that, life couldn't be better and we have absolutely no regrets at all. We honestly fel that this is where we are meant to be. I have been missing from PIO for a while. A very long story connected to the arrival of my in-laws. I will tell all, but not on this thread. Anyway, they have gone, we are recovering and we have started to say "we live here" to each other on a daily basis again.

We landed in Oz. Jake's gone to a piano recital. Bridget's gone to see Leonard Cohen at the Entertainment centre. Josh is on a sleep-over................me?..................I've been invited round to Andy&Yvonne's place to beat the crap out of 'em at trivial pursuits..............tis easy:yes:.............even with 12 tooheys platinum inside me..............the fact that the silly buggers bought the Aussie version by mistake may have something to do with it as well................who the hell is Ricky Ponting? I hear 'em ask :biglaugh: kev

After touring the state capitals, I have decided to settle with my daughter in Adelaide. Any new arrivals, or veteran migrants in Adelaide? It has been a cold, grey winter - not what I expected when I migrated to Australia, but as everyone keeps telling me, this has been an unusual winter here. It's picking up now and today we had a beautiful, warm sunny day. We are staying in temporary accommodation while I try and navigate the school system here and get my daughter into a reasonable one. Money is a bit of a worry as the cost of living is higher than I expected. Rents are similar to the UK. Would love to connect with any other Adelaide migrants to share stories and tips.

Hiya, this is my first post on here but i have been a serious lurker over the past year or so whilst trying to sort out mine and my partners rsms 857 visa. This forum has been a goldmine of information. My partner and i have recently (3 weeks ago) been granted permanent residency on an 857 rsms visa (i am an arborist or tree surgeon in WA), i was previously working for my employer for 6 months on a working holiday visa. However, work has seriously slowed down the past couple of months and the boss is starting looking at downsizing. This is exactly what happened to me in the UK and made me come over here in the first place!! From what i have read and understand so far, if i am made redundant on the RSMS i am to find work within the same industry in a regional part of australia. The problem being that arborist work is very slow throughout regional WA at the minute. There is however still arborist jobs in Perth. What am i supposed to do if i can't find a job in the same industry in regional WA?! can i apply for jobs in different industrys whilst still staying in regional WA? I feel pretty screwed at the minute to be honest. The mrs and i were feeling really settled where we are at the minute having joined clubs and become part of the community. If anybody can offer any advice it's greatly appreciated.

My friend sent me pics of me on our first day of nurse training! 3rd May 1990! Its been on our noticeboard at work giving everyone a good laugh today! What were you doing 20 years ago? How old were you? Was what your life like?

Hi I have n,t been on here for a while and I am trying to get some idea of what is happening with the visa situation. We lodged ours 16 months ago skilled 175. Husband is skilled sheet metal worker and was on the sol but a couple of months later he wasn,t. Had a look on the DIAC website and have been reading loads of threads and am I right in thinking it could take a couple of years. Was also wondering if immigration could not even process without telling me. Just thought we would of heard something by now. Seems to be in such a mess life has been on hold now for ages. Thankyou to anyone who takes time to help. x

I have heard this so many times recently from people who have immigrated and I was wondering who on here feels the same and what it was that stopped you from doing it and has it had an impact on your life? Personaly my parents first talked about making the move when I was 15 but decided that it was not the right time to take me out of school and did not make the move until I was 18. I was of course dead set against it as I was out partying, and as a result I ended up staying in the UK on my own, now at the age of 35 I have struggled to find a way into Oz but have managed to do it, but boy do I regret not doing it years ago!! :wink: Emma

:arghh:Hi can anyone help We moved to Perth well we are living at Clarkson at the Mo less than a wk ago and I hate it I know no one and I just want to go home but guess what Im not allowed :arghh:Im Kane im aged 15 and would like to hear from anyone who knows how this feels and fancies meeting up Kane

Hi all Been a regular visitor of this site but first time poster!!I got my 885 granted 3 weeks ago n I didn't even know since I stopped checking my emails realising the fact that no good news is gonna come before 2012/13 lol!! But thanks to ALLAH there was a pleasent surprise waiting for me this morning.. Timeline as follows: Applied 885: June '09 Documents FrontLoaded Non CSL, Non MODL SS: June'09 Transferred to 886: June CO allocated: 15th September 23rd September Debacle occurs- CO GONE Same CO re-assigned: Nov/Dec CO changed due to transition in DIAC: Dec CO changed again: Dec Jan: Started nagging DIAC,Finally got hold of my CO number Jan onwards: Calling to get updated every fortnight Jan: Internal Security Clearances being done,as per my 'new' CO Feb: Started teasing my CO again n again March: Got sick of it n decided to let her stay in peace!! March: Stopped checking e-mails regularly,accepted the fact that I'd be there till 2012 April: CO gives me peace by granting 886 May: Finds out on 11th May, 2010!! Good Luck to all applicants and I wish them good news very very soon!!

A year ago today we set off in the snow from Manchester Airport to emigrate to Australia. We spent our last day having Sunday lunch at a lovely country pub with our relatives and saying lots of tearful goodbyes. As we lived a fair distance from the airport, we had booked to spend the night before the flight at a hotel and the dear friend who dropped us off there didn't want to leave. We flew with Singapore Airlines, no complaints there - we visited the Koi Fish pond and the Butterfly Garden at Changi, both very nice. We arrived in Brisbane Airport and were met by our long term friends, whose house we had arranged to stay at for 5 days until we got on our feet. They will never know just how grateful and appreciatiative we will always be of the help they gave us in those first weeks - showing us how to apply for driving licences, medicare, etc was such a help to us because we didn't have a clue what to do. We spent a couple of weeks in an apartment overlooking the Brisbane river after leaving our friends' house, which was arranged by the company my OH works for as part of a relocation package. We were very fortunate that my OH had secured employment before we arrived, as we couldn't have afforded to emigrate so soon without a wage coming in (he's the skilled one, not me). We spent hours driving around and looking in real estate windows for a house to rent - we still havent sold our house in the UK even now. I would urge any new arrivals to wait until you can get here and see areas for yourself because some of them look nothing like they do on the websites you browse from the UK!! It's okay to have a vague idea of where you want to settle, but do keep an open mind until you can see places for yourself in the cold light of day. We eventually decided to stay on Bribie because it was within (reasonable) travelling distance to Brisbane (OH can't use the train as his workplace is nowhere near the train lines). He managed to secure a car share on his first day with two local lads and this has been a great help with petrol costs. We haven't found Australia to be "expensive" per se. Some things are cheaper if you know where to shop (buy meat from the large warehouse style butchers and fruit and veg from the fruit and veg shop, not the supermarket). Other things have surprised us such as the Pay As You Go phones, which require you to use your credit within a specified timeframe - or you lose it!! That struck me as daylight robbery if I'm honest but it's swings and roundabouts generally - some things cost more, others less. The kids have settled better than I expected them to which has been a relief. They have joined swimming squads (even the tiny folk are awesome swimmers in Oz, IMHO - my two were considered good swimmers before they came here but they have to fight hard to keep up here, lol). Our 13 year old is learning to surf and they both love the outdoors lifestyle here. We bought a little old boat for next to nothing about 6 months ago and OH and son have thoroughly enjoyed doing it up and we get out on it as often as we can, it's not the QE2 but it floats and that's all that matters!! There have been times I have missed my family so much it's like a physical pain but you have to remember why you came here and get on with it if you can. My heart goes out to anyone who feels like this, it's the worst feeling in the world and a huge shock to the system when you have been confident you'd cope beforehand. I hope this has not been too boring a read. We're gradually still finding our feet but we feel more comfortable each day. While we have never said this is forever (who knows what the future holds for us?), we are glad to see our children blossoming and that's good enough for us right now. Such alot has changed in a year it's really quite amazing. Good luck to all those still waiting! Sue x