Moving home soon - terrified

[LO_in_aus]

Hey everyone,

Hoping you can help. I've lived in Australia for 5 years and I'm moving back to the UK in 3 weeks.

In my heart, I know I'm doing the right thing. My partner and I are both on temporary visas with no path to permanent residency despite living here and paying taxes for half a decade. We are both unhappy in our careers but can't change jobs because they are tied to our visas. We both know what we want to do (he wants to be a property developer and I want to go back into Communications) but we can't. Staying here would mean settling in careers we aren't happy in.

Plus there are a lot of things I'm excited for in the UK. Being close to my family, going on country walks, going to the pub, the live music scene, the food. Plus we are able to travel so freely as we're so close to everything - the only place I've travelled to aside from the UK in the past 5 years is Bali and I LOVE travelling and exploring new cultures.

We also want to buy a house and invest in property, get a dog, go travelling (we're going to Central America for 6 months in January). We can't do any of this here because of our visas.

However, it's so so hard giving up our life here. We live in an apartment right on the beach, get paid very well, have made some good friendships here and (besides our careers) are generally happy. Everyone keeps telling us we are crazy for moving back to the UK which makes things harder.

The worst thing is, we know that if we do regret leaving then we might not be able to ever move back because we don't have Permanent Residency or citizenship. Although my current employer is gutted I'm leaving and has said he would sponsor me and re-employ me if I ever wanted to return (although I am moving away to get out of this job).

I guess I'm just looking for reassurance that I'm making the right decision as everybody keeps saying I'm mad for leaving which is so frustrating.

Has anybody ever been in a similar position? Any positive returning stories?

Thank you!

[Marisawright]

Of course you're doing the right thing.  You know that you can't make a future in Australia, so every year you stay in Oz, is another year you can't be building your future in the UK.  

Pay no attention to people who tell you that you're mad to leave, especially if they're also from overseas. They say that because they feel threatened, that's all.     In the back of their mind, they may hanker for home too, but most of the time, they're able to squash that feeling down and have another Chardy.   You're reminding them that they have a choice, that they could go home, and they don't want to even think about it because you might be right, and perhaps a beach lifestyle isn't more important than your family. 

[DIG85]

3 hours ago, LO_in_aus said:

 Although my current employer is gutted I'm leaving and has said he would sponsor me and re-employ me if I ever wanted to return (although I am moving away to get out of this job).

 

Edited November 19, 2021 by DIG85

[DIG85]

Makes you wonder why he hasn’t already offered to sponsor your PR.

[Robert Dyson]

1 minute ago, DIG85 said:

Makes you wonder why he hasn’t already offered to sponsor your PR.

"My occupation is only eligible for the temporary skilled shortage visa route, meaning my employer renews it every two years and there's no path to permanent residency"

[LO_in_aus]

4 minutes ago, DIG85 said:

Makes you wonder why he hasn’t already offered to sponsor your PR.

Unfortunately our careers aren't on the skilled shortage list meaning we wouldn't be able to get PR even if our employers wanted to sponsor us for it. We can only renew our temporary visas every 2 years.

[LO_in_aus]

42 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Of course you're doing the right thing.  You know that you can't make a future in Australia, so every year you stay in Oz, is another year you can't be building your future in the UK.  

Pay no attention to people who tell you that you're mad to leave, especially if they're also from overseas. They say that because they feel threatened, that's all.     In the back of their mind, they may hanker for home too, but most of the time, they're able to squash that feeling down and have another Chardy.   You're reminding them that they have a choice, that they could go home, and they don't want to even think about it because you might be right, and perhaps a beach lifestyle isn't more important than your family. 

Thank you so much. Yes actually that makes total sense that they may feel threatened, and are probably trying to convince themselves that staying in Australia is the right decision. I hadn't really thought of that

[Quoll]

Of course you are doing the right thing, you can't live happily in limbo and there is a big wide world out there waiting for you!  Plenty of opportunity to find the lifestyle you want I would have said and now you are not shackled to a career you arent particularly happy in, you can test the waters and find out what really floats your boat. 

I recently accidentally spent 9 years in UK and they were the best years of my recent life - so much that gelled with me - history, walks, countryside, people, humour, so much to see and do in such a small space.  I would be back in a heartbeat if I could.

Edited November 20, 2021 by Quoll

[Blue Flu]

I can only echo the views of above. You are most certainly doing the right thing. UK definitely better for those who enjoy travel. Just a shame you didn't see more of the Asian region while based in OZ. Bali would be my least favourite. But no matter. At least the other factors outside of employment were to your liking. Who knows where the future lays? 

[tom1993]

If there’s no route to PR, you’re just delaying the inevitable arent you? You’ll have to go home eventually and 5 years is a long time to have lived here. I personally couldn’t just live on back to back temporary visas it would drive me mad!

If I was you I’d go home and live in London for a year or two, it’ll kickstart your career. I lived there for 3 years and had a great time. 

[Nemesis]

15 hours ago, LO_in_aus said:

Unfortunately our careers aren't on the skilled shortage list meaning we wouldn't be able to get PR even if our employers wanted to sponsor us for it. We can only renew our temporary visas every 2 years.

So what happens if your jobs are removed from the sponsorship lists? If your employer changes his/her mind? If the Immigration Dept change the rules making you ineligible?

Can you live with all that uncertainty? And in the end you will be too old for temporary sponsorship and will have to leave anyway?

[Marisawright]

7 hours ago, Nemesis said:

So what happens if your jobs are removed from the sponsorship lists? If your employer changes his/her mind? If the Immigration Dept change the rules making you ineligible?

Can you live with all that uncertainty? And in the end you will be too old for temporary sponsorship and will have to leave anyway?

I think a more salient point is that an employer can't just keep renewing temporary sponsorship for the same job/same person every two years.  Immigration would smell a rat. In fact I may be wrong, but I thought there was a limit on how many times a 482 could be renewed.  

[LO_in_aus]

3 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

I think a more salient point is that an employer can't just keep renewing temporary sponsorship for the same job/same person every two years.  Immigration would smell a rat. In fact I may be wrong, but I thought there was a limit on how many times a 482 could be renewed.  

I've had it renewed once, I have friends who have had it renewed 3 times. Immigration want to keep us here, as they are very short on talent (especially in the field of tech recruitment which I work in) but they don't want to give us permanent residency because they want to appear to have a hard stance on immigration and keep their 'Australians first' persona.

[Parley]

Is there really a shortage of tech recruiters? Hard to believe.

I can't believe how many agencies there are and every day I'm getting LinkedIn requests from tech recruiters. They seem to be absolutely everywhere.

[LO_in_aus]

27 minutes ago, Parley said:

Is there really a shortage of tech recruiters? Hard to believe.

I can't believe how many agencies there are and every day I'm getting LinkedIn requests from tech recruiters. They seem to be absolutely everywhere.

Yes, massively. We have been trying to hire in our TA team for months. So many recruiters moved back overseas during Covid. I also get multiple LinkedIn messages every day about roles, and they're often offering double the salary I would've got for before Covid. There's a massive shortage of people in tech too, which is why you get so many messages.

Anyway, this is very far away from the topic I posted about. Thanks for the 'support'

[Marisawright]

1 hour ago, LO_in_aus said:

I've had it renewed once, I have friends who have had it renewed 3 times. Immigration want to keep us here, as they are very short on talent (especially in the field of tech recruitment which I work in) but they don't want to give us permanent residency because they want to appear to have a hard stance on immigration and keep their 'Australians first' persona.

I just checked and the law says a TSS visa can only be renewed once, if it's on the short-term list.   During Covid, that rule has been waived.    

I've heard of people managing to get around visa limitations by using another company to do the subsequent applications.  Not strictly legal though.

[Blue Flu]

1 hour ago, LO_in_aus said:

I've had it renewed once, I have friends who have had it renewed 3 times. Immigration want to keep us here, as they are very short on talent (especially in the field of tech recruitment which I work in) but they don't want to give us permanent residency because they want to appear to have a hard stance on immigration and keep their 'Australians first' persona.

Never heard before this as a given reason. In fact the tech field at least how I understood, was heavily slanted towards migration , especially Sub Continent , probably because they are most likely to apply. 

[Jon the Hat]

You are absolutely doing the right thing.  You have made some great memories, doing something most people never do, and you will always have those!  Move on with life!

[LO_in_aus]

3 hours ago, Marisawright said:

I just checked and the law says a TSS visa can only be renewed once, if it's on the short-term list.   During Covid, that rule has been waived.    

I've heard of people managing to get around visa limitations by using another company to do the subsequent applications.  Not strictly legal though.

I have had mine renewed by the same company (as have my friends) and with a very respectable team of immigration lawyers. I'm not doing anything illegal thank you. Unsure why you're researching this when I'm leaving anyway and it has nothing to do with the topic posted?

Maybe rather than having a problem with me/ people who are on temporary visas, try and see things from our perspective. I've worked here for 5 years, paid taxes and contributed to the economy. In return I have very few rights here, including being able to visit family overseas right now (only citizens and PR's are allowed to leave and come back) and we haven't seen our families in 2 years.

Thanks for your input

[LO_in_aus]

41 minutes ago, Jon the Hat said:

You are absolutely doing the right thing.  You have made some great memories, doing something most people never do, and you will always have those!  Move on with life!

Thanks so much

[LO_in_aus]

21 hours ago, tom1993 said:

If there’s no route to PR, you’re just delaying the inevitable arent you? You’ll have to go home eventually and 5 years is a long time to have lived here. I personally couldn’t just live on back to back temporary visas it would drive me mad!

If I was you I’d go home and live in London for a year or two, it’ll kickstart your career. I lived there for 3 years and had a great time. 

Thank you!

[Marisawright]

2 hours ago, LO_in_aus said:

I have had mine renewed by the same company (as have my friends) and with a very respectable team of immigration lawyers. I'm not doing anything illegal thank you. Unsure why you're researching this when I'm leaving anyway and it has nothing to do with the topic posted?

Maybe rather than having a problem with me/ people who are on temporary visas,

I don't know why you think I have a problem with you or anyone on a temp visa.  I'm just stating the facts in response to the topic Parley brought up.  Threads do go off topic occasionally, there's no law against it.

You had your visa renewed once, which is perfectly legal.  During Covid, people have been getting their visa renewed a second time, which is usually not allowed, but again perfectly legal at the moment. 

I'm sure immigration lawyers would not do anything that actually breaks the law, but of course they will exploit loopholes.  

[Toots]

14 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

I don't know why you think I have a problem with you or anyone on a temp visa.  I'm just stating the facts in response to the topic Parley brought up.  Threads do go off topic occasionally, there's no law against it.

You had your visa renewed once, which is perfectly legal.  During Covid, people have been getting their visa renewed a second time, which is usually not allowed, but again perfectly legal at the moment. 

I'm sure immigration lawyers would not do anything that actually breaks the law, but of course they will exploit loopholes.  

I knew what you were saying Marisa.  The whole talk of visas, migration in this thread is irrelevant anyway as the OP will be back in the UK in three weeks.

 

[ramot]

3 hours ago, LO_in_aus said:

I have had mine renewed by the same company (as have my friends) and with a very respectable team of immigration lawyers. I'm not doing anything illegal thank you. Unsure why you're researching this when I'm leaving anyway and it has nothing to do with the topic posted?

Maybe rather than having a problem with me/ people who are on temporary visas, try and see things from our perspective. I've worked here for 5 years, paid taxes and contributed to the economy. In return I have very few rights here, including being able to visit family overseas right now (only citizens and PR's are allowed to leave and come back) and we haven't seen our families in 2 years.

Thanks for your input

I sympathise as although my son was in a different situation to you it was  in some ways in a slightly similar position. This was several years ago when the labor government changed the rules retrospectively for International students overnight. Like thousands he was on a bridging visa for 31/2 years having done everything right when he lodged his visa application. He was one of the few who did get PR,. I know different circumstances, but he had lived here for 61/2 years, studying and working and paying taxes with the constant insecurity of his position, and threat that he could be told to pack up and leave within 28 days.

Although the reality is sadly that it was always extremely unlikely  that you could stay here, I understand the underlying hope that you could.

I wish you all the best for next phase of your life. 

Edited November 21, 2021 by ramot

[LO_in_aus]

22 hours ago, Marisawright said:

I don't know why you think I have a problem with you or anyone on a temp visa.  I'm just stating the facts in response to the topic Parley brought up.  Threads do go off topic occasionally, there's no law against it.

You had your visa renewed once, which is perfectly legal.  During Covid, people have been getting their visa renewed a second time, which is usually not allowed, but again perfectly legal at the moment. 

I'm sure immigration lawyers would not do anything that actually breaks the law, but of course they will exploit loopholes.  

Yes apologies, I probably get a bit too touchy on this subject as I've been through so much in the past few years trying to stay. I understand and appreciate where you were coming from!