johnboy100 Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 Hi there everyone, My wife and I have only one son and he emigrated to Australia 5 years ago on a Partner Visa and is now married (and has now been granted Permanent Residency) to an Australian and they have a young daughter. We looked at emigrating there a couple of years ago but at our age (both 56), the only option appeared to be the Contributory Parent Visa at huge cost (even higher now due to the fall in the £) so we didn't go for it in the end. Although I am a well qualified engineer, I don't think there are any work-related visas that would be available to me. We are both retired and own our UK property and although have a good pension in UK terms, it is not enough to sustain buying a property over in Australia (plus I believe non-residents can only buy off-plan new builds which limits the areas available) without downsizing possibly to a small flat here. My question is fairly general but I wondered if anyone can suggest the best, most cost-effective way of spending more time in Australia in order that we can see our grand-daughter grow up - maybe long-term renting or purchasing a static-sited caravan (if they have those in Aus), house swaps or an extended stay visitor visa (if it exists). Our son and daughter-in-law live in Sydney but only have a small apartment so staying with them is not feasible plus who would want their parents/in-laws staying long-term with them? Hence, hotels cost a lot in the long run! Open for any suggestions - thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 My parents did a 6/6 visit for 16 years before they got too old to make the trip and travel insurance got too prohibitive. What they did was to build a granny flat on our block so although they were on our block they were independent. Used to rock up in October and play golf until March then go back to UK to play golf until October. We had use of the granny flat and their car while they were home and they just used to either have someone stay in their UK house or have someone stay over periodically. It worked well for them and they remember it with fondness and gratitude that they saw their grandsons grow up for at least part of the year. We are all fiercely independent though so we had our own lives and they came and travelled as they wished. Of course, Sydney apartment living doesn't lend itself to that very well so I would suggest a static van somewhere, maybe down on the coast just outside Sydney. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnboy100 Posted August 19, 2016 Author Share Posted August 19, 2016 Thanks Quoll for the insight. Does the tourist visa allow up to 6 months then? I understood it was valid for 1 year but only 3 months in one stint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 The 600 visa would allow you to spend large periods of time in oz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnboy100 Posted August 19, 2016 Author Share Posted August 19, 2016 Thanks Very Stormy, just looked at it for the first time and you are spot on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 For accommodation, we had a holiday rental next to us and a couple in very similar circumstances approached the owners and said they would like it for a number of months a year. The owner agreed a very large discount as a result. Might be something to consider particularly if you will be out of peak season Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skippy79 Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 Buy a car and caravan, use it for 6 months a year until you are too old.. spend a bit with the son and family, and then spend the rest exploring Oz, fantastic lifestyle if you ask me, although I do understand it isn't for everyone. While back in the UK get it serviced and then just store it somewhere Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 The ideal would be to buy a caravan and keep it in your son's garden but as they're living in an apartment, that's not an option. The fact they're in Sydney does make it difficult. I'd say buying a static caravan or a cabin at a holiday resort would be your best option, but that would have to be a bit outside Sydney. I don't know if there would be any problem doing that as a non-resident, but perhaps you could give your son the money to buy it and then they could use it when you're not there? Look at the coast south to Wollongong or north to Newcastle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diane Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 Did you see my reply to your other thread about static caravans? If you google 'cabins' rather than 'static caravans' you will get better results. Also a cabin would be much more liveable than a caravan here, as most australian caravans don't have loos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miw54 Posted August 22, 2016 Share Posted August 22, 2016 Hello You could try housesitting. We did that on two occasions and it was great. You have to like animals - we looked after cats (as I adore them) mainly but also dogs and chickens. However, it enabled us to travel to different places and meet some nice people too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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