Advice on 30 year old daughter with kids

[LisaR 10]

Hi all

We've been living in Oz for 5 years now and my step daughter who's 31 lives in the UK with her 3 kids.

 

Her mum passed just over 2 years ago so she's on her own in the UK now.  No other family contact.  She's also single.

 

Are there any options for her to come over here to live or is it a definite no unless she meets skills in demand etc?

 

Any advice appreciated.

 

Thanks all.

[Marisawright 6,582]

No practical options. The last remaining relative visa has a waiting time of about 40 years

[Quoll 5,244]

Probably not.  Her kids have a father I assume - he might not allow them to leave and they will have him as a relative.  Best thing she could do is to train up to be something that might possibly lead her to a skilled visa in the future but that's a bit of a gamble these days when even nurses and teachers are a bit iffy.

[Tulip1 3,001]

5 hours ago, Quoll said:

Probably not.  Her kids have a father I assume - he might not allow them to leave and they will have him as a relative.  Best thing she could do is to train up to be something that might possibly lead her to a skilled visa in the future but that's a bit of a gamble these days when even nurses and teachers are a bit iffy.

I agree and again, she would probably need to wait until the kids are adults if their father doesn’t give permission for them to move. That on its own could  cause issues as when they’re adults proving their dependency on her may be problematic.

[rtritudr 129]

20 hours ago, Marisawright said:

No practical options. The last remaining relative visa has a waiting time of about 40 years

Yes but if she can get the bridging visa, at least she'll have time to explore other visa options in those 40 years.  The critical issue is can she get a bridging visa with work rights and Medicare.

[Marisawright 6,582]

1 hour ago, rtritudr said:

Yes but if she can get the bridging visa, at least she'll have time to explore other visa options in those 40 years.  The critical issue is can she get a bridging visa with work rights and Medicare.

A lot of people think "if I can get into Australia somehow, then it'll be easier to get another visa once I'm there".   Actually, the opposite is true.  There are no visas that magically appear once you get here. 

If she wants to qualify for a visa and doesn't currently have the skills, she can undertake a course in the UK as a domestic student.  She'll have access to government support and has no restrictions on her ability to work while she studies.  Whereas if she came to Australia on a bridging visa and wanted to do a course, she'd have to pay thousands of dollars in full international fees.  Also, there would be school fees to pay for the kids, and no access to child care, child support or other benefits. She might be able to apply for permission to work on hardship grounds, but she'd have to be on the breadline and with kids and no access to benefits, that's not a place you want to be.

[Arti 13]

7 hours ago, Marisawright said:

A lot of people think "if I can get into Australia somehow, then it'll be easier to get another visa once I'm there".   Actually, the opposite is true.  There are no visas that magically appear once you get here. 

If she wants to qualify for a visa and doesn't currently have the skills, she can undertake a course in the UK as a domestic student.  She'll have access to government support and has no restrictions on her ability to work while she studies.  Whereas if she came to Australia on a bridging visa and wanted to do a course, she'd have to pay thousands of dollars in full international fees.  Also, there would be school fees to pay for the kids, and no access to child care, child support or other benefits. She might be able to apply for permission to work on hardship grounds, but she'd have to be on the breadline and with kids and no access to benefits, that's not a place you want to be.

I think the more difficult part is the emotional aspect of living in limbo. There are too many what ifs and could haves in this process. And then you end up getting emotionally invested in the country, living with the people you love and going back in the event nothing works out becomes an unthinkable option.

Edited November 26, 2020 by Arti

[ali 16,180]

11 hours ago, rtritudr said:

Yes but if she can get the bridging visa, at least she'll have time to explore other visa options in those 40 years.  The critical issue is can she get a bridging visa with work rights and Medicare.

There's also the cost of schooling for her children whilst on a bridging visa

[rtritudr 129]

13 hours ago, ali said:

There's also the cost of schooling for her children whilst on a bridging visa

Right.  But there are exemptions for financial hardship depending on the state.

[Marisawright 6,582]

9 minutes ago, rtritudr said:

Right.  But there are exemptions for financial hardship depending on the state.

Even for someone who has not allowed to access state benefits?

[rtritudr 129]

4 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Even for someone who has not allowed to access state benefits?

This is not a federal benefit, it comes from the state education system.  For example, NSW has this:

https://www.deinternational.nsw.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/17759/17759-Application-for-Fee-Exemption-Based-on-Low-Income.pdf

Edited November 27, 2020 by rtritudr

[ali 16,180]

14 minutes ago, rtritudr said:

Right.  But there are exemptions for financial hardship depending on the state.

If eg she was on a bridging visa her children would be also which means they wouldn't have the same access to Uni fees (given the length of time that the visa is for) Uni loans are only for citizens.  I would really look into if being on a bridging visa is classed as a temporary visa in which case she would have to pay international (not domestic) fees and with 3 children that would be alot

. 

[ali 16,180]

5 minutes ago, rtritudr said:

This is not a federal benefit, it comes from the state education system.  For example, NSW has this:

https://www.deinternational.nsw.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/17759/17759-Application-for-Fee-Exemption-Based-on-Low-Income.pdf

At the end of the day, our forum members are only well meaning amateur's - if she is serious about wanting to come over, she should seek some professional advise from a registered migration agent regarding potential pathways.

[Marisawright 6,582]

40 minutes ago, rtritudr said:

This is not a federal benefit, it comes from the state education system.  For example, NSW has this:

https://www.deinternational.nsw.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/17759/17759-Application-for-Fee-Exemption-Based-on-Low-Income.pdf

You'll notice that not all bridging visa holders are eligible for that benefit either, and that they're still blocked from selective schools, extra support etc.  So it's far from straightforward.

[Marisawright 6,582]

51 minutes ago, ali said:

At the end of the day, our forum members are only well meaning amateur's - if she is serious about wanting to come over, she should seek some professional advise from a registered migration agent regarding potential pathways.

I agree that she should consult an agent.  However, she shouldn't rely on an agent to advise on the limitations and downsides of the visa once she's in Australia. An agent's job is simply to tell her what visas she can apply for.

I used to assume agents would warn people of the pitfalls but I've been told (by an agent) that it's not their job.

[paulhand 483]

4 hours ago, Marisawright said:

I agree that she should consult an agent.  However, she shouldn't rely on an agent to advise on the limitations and downsides of the visa once she's in Australia. An agent's job is simply to tell her what visas she can apply for.

I used to assume agents would warn people of the pitfalls but I've been told (by an agent) that it's not their job.

I think it’s my job to point out the pitfalls of any visa strategy and I do ... what I can’t do is advise people on matters that require other expertise (or registration) such as tax, investments and the details of any benefits that could be available.