Bridging visa

[Lyocar]

Hi, we are new to the site, we are planning a parental visa which takes many years, we would go on to a bridging visa and technically you are not allowed to leave Australia except in special circumstances, but does anyone actually know at what point we become a non resident of the UK.

Hopefully someone can help TIA

[Ausvisitor]

25 minutes ago, Lyocar said:

Hi, we are new to the site, we are planning a parental visa which takes many years, we would go on to a bridging visa and technically you are not allowed to leave Australia except in special circumstances, but does anyone actually know at what point we become a non resident of the UK.

Hopefully someone can help TIA

The non resident bit is easy.

You become non resident by choice the day you leave the UK and intend to reside (predominantly) in another country.

For taxation and health care entitlements once you have been outside the UK for 183 you are no longer considered tax resident until you return for a period of the same duration.

Not being resident for tax purposes and not being subject to UK taxation though are very different things. You still pay tax on income derived in the UK, but you also declare it in Australia, the two countries have an agreement that you won't get taxed twice on the income

[Lyocar]

Many thanks for your reply Ausvisitor.

[Marisawright]

10 hours ago, Lyocar said:

Hi, we are new to the site, we are planning a parental visa which takes many years, we would go on to a bridging visa and technically you are not allowed to leave Australia except in special circumstances, but does anyone actually know at what point we become a non resident of the UK.

Hopefully someone can help TIA

Welcome @Lyocar.  It's a very big decision to come to Australia on a bridging visa in your declining years.  I hope you are fully informed on the difficulties associated with living on a bridging visa.  Please don't hesitate to ask questions here and good luck.

[Lyocar]

Many thanks for your feedback Marisawright, coming from the UK can I ask what you believe are the main challenges of living in Australia under a non contributing aged parent bridging visa or should I start a separate thread.       Thanks 

[Marisawright]

1 hour ago, Lyocar said:

Many thanks for your feedback Marisawright, coming from the UK can I ask what you believe are the main challenges of living in Australia under a non contributing aged parent bridging visa or should I start a separate thread.       Thanks 

With pleasure.

As you 've already noted, once you get the Bridging Visa, you cannot leave the country -- or to be more accurate, you can leave the country, but you'll make your visa worthless by doing so, because you won't be allowed back into Australia.  That doesn't mean you can never leave though.  It just means you must apply for and obtain a BVB before you leave Australia, and then make absolutely sure you're back by the deadline for your return.  It requires a little more forward planning, that's all.

The main disadvantage is due to the fact that you're in a kind of limbo.  Although you will be physically resident in Australia for a long time, you remain a temporary visitor.  That means you are not eligible for any benefits or support in Australia.  People think "Oh but I would never claim welfare benefits" - but aged care subsidies are a government benefit, and so are pensioner concessions, prescriptions etc. When you get too infirm to look after yourself while on the bridging visa, will your family be able to care for you?  Or do you have enough money to buy into a private retirement home?    I know we don't like to think about dying, but if you're going for a non-contributory visa then you will die on the bridging visa,  and if you are like most people, one or both of you may need care for an extended period before then.   Don't think you can move back to the UK and be treated on the NHS and access aged care there - you're no longer a resident there, and being a UK citizen cuts no ice. You'll have to re-establish your legal residency in the UK, and perhaps serve a waiting period, before you can access services. 

If you're currently living in the UK, you're lucky, because it means at least you'll have access to Medicare.  Strictly speaking, that access is supposed to be limited - the official wording says that if the treatment can wait until you can fly back to your home country, you won't be treated.  However in practice, it seems to cover you exactly the same as it covers your resident Australian chlidren. I'm 68 myself so I'm very conscious of how our need for medicines increase as we age, so it's good to know that won't be an issue.  You just won't get the pensioner/low income "safety net', which means you'll pay the same price as young working folk for your prescriptions, which can be $40 per item. 

I'm sure you already know that your British government pension will be frozen forever at the rate it is now, with no increases or supplements ever, which obviously means that its value will erode to virtually nothing over the next 15 or 20 years, so you need to feel confident your private pensions will give you enough to live on.   The other financial blow is that if you want to buy a home, you'll be treated as a foreign investor.  That means paying a fee to obtain permission from the FIRB and then paying a hefty surcharge on top of the purchase price of the home ($40,000 on a $500,000 home, for instance).  

Of course I've focused on the challenges because that's what you asked about.  

 

 

 

Edited April 25, 2022 by Marisawright

[Lyocar]

Wow ……Marisawright, many thanks for such a detailed response, my wife and I really appreciate the time and effort that you have taken in your response.

Although my wife and I are in our mid sixties we are in good health but you have raised some very valid concerns.

Can you please advise how we would stand health care wise and would we be entitled to care home facilities if we were to apply for the contributory aged parental visa 864 at approximately $110k.

TIA

[Marisawright]

57 minutes ago, Lyocar said:

Can you please advise how we would stand health care wise and would we be entitled to care home facilities if we were to apply for the contributory aged parental visa 864

Not much better off, I'm afraid.  The waiting time for he 864 visa, if you apply today, is at least 15 years.   For those 15 years, you would be on the exact same bridging visa as for the non-contributory visa, so no advantage there. 

[Quoll]

If you applied for an offshore contributory visa and arrived as permanent residents then you would be able to access whatever other permanent residents access - waiting times and means testing provided of course but you would get full medicare from date of arrival.  Have you thought about applying for an offshore visa and making regular visits while you wait? Might keep more of your options open in the longer run.  I'm not sure I would be quite so sanguine about expecting Medicare to cover everything if you are on a bridging visa - stories vary and some folk have found no difference to full medicare but others have so I suspect it may depend on item number they claim it on (elective surgery not covered for example).  If you do decide to go for it you'd be better getting good private health cover just in case although that won't pay for things like medications.

[Lyocar]

Thanks very much for all the responses, if anyone else would like to add further comments please feel free to do so.

[Marisawright]

20 minutes ago, Lyocar said:

Thanks very much for all the responses, if anyone else would like to add further comments please feel free to do so.

It is very difficult and you have my sympathy for the difficult situation you're in.    

There are parents who are lobbying for parent visas to be treated more sympathetically but to be honest, I don't hold out much hope.  Perhaps if they lobbied to even up the score as part of the new trade agreement between the UK and Australia, they might have more luck. I'm not sure if you're aware that UK does not offer parent visas for Australians who'd like their parents to join them in the UK.

[LindaH27]

Most agents will recommend you have substantial funds if you relying on a bridging visa for  many  years -projected  to take between 30-40 years on the non contributory! 
 

You have to pass a medical 3 years after applying just to be put into the official queue. Aged care is extremely  expensive and there have been occasions when applicants have been asked to leave Australia because immi have become aware they are costing Medicare ( or rather the reciprocal health care ) too much.

Even  if applying now for the contributory that will have same conditions and will take around 18  years. Even after that is granted you’re not eligible for any benefits for 10 years