The Brand New PIO Parents Visa thread

[SusieRoo]

14 hours ago, NanaJan said:

 

We are on holiday as we speak. Homeless, unemployed and reliant on public transport! I am normally a pessimistic sort but I don't think we have any medical issues.  But hey, if we fail them then there will be something seriously wrong so we will have a massive holiday, to hell with the cost, and go back to the UK if and when we absolutely have to!

Funnily enough I have tried to book our medicals today but the site seems to be playing up with dates. I'll try again later.

No home, Job or car!

Too scary for me, you're either very brave or bonkers.

Probably the former, and I am sure you will have a new home and visas very soon.

I do think the question of passing the medical is a concern for many parents, especially if considering selling up in the uk, pre visa grant. I wonder if anyone has done a pre-medical medical? I hear you can have a human MOT with full scan and blood tests for about £220.  Anyone know anything about these? I suppose this could help all the 'less brave' like me.

Edited July 6, 2017 by SusieRoo

[Kathss56]

Friend of a friend applied Sept 14 got visa this morning. @Catlady2014 won't belong now 

[Fisher1]

4 hours ago, SusieRoo said:

No home, Job or car!

Too scary for me, you're either very brave or bonkers.

Probably the former, and I am sure you will have a new home and visas very soon.

I do think the question of passing the medical is a concern for many parents, especially if considering selling up in the uk, pre visa grant. I wonder if anyone has done a pre-medical medical? I hear you can have a human MOT with full scan and blood tests for about £220.  Anyone know anything about these? I suppose this could help all the 'less brave' like me.

This was something we thought about trying to organise ... but then we came to the conclusion that there was no substitute for passing 'the' medical and that given the five years grace they allow you to make the big move over once you had your visa, it was probably better to just get the visa application in and go with the flow. This how we came to have our visa before we were able to leave the UK.  It's really difficult and I think you're right, I think a lot of people worry about the medical. I can only say that we were hugely relieved once the medical was over.

[SusieRoo]

1 hour ago, Fisher1 said:

This was something we thought about trying to organise ... but then we came to the conclusion that there was no substitute for passing 'the' medical and that given the five years grace they allow you to make the big move over once you had your visa, it was probably better to just get the visa application in and go with the flow. This how we came to have our visa before we were able to leave the UK.  It's really difficult and I think you're right, I think a lot of people worry about the medical. I can only say that we were hugely relieved once the medical was over.

That’s a good approach to take. I wish there were some way of submitting the CPV application and then forgetting all about it, while getting on with our day-to-day life. Trouble is once the application goes in, everything changes and every little decision seems to have an Australian angle.

Also the increased processing times are frustrating our plans. We like most people here, we expected to have our visas within 18 months. And now we are considering if there is a way to also make the move before our visas are granted.

The more I think about it, the more important it is to not get carried away without mitigating the risks. A pre-medical medical is a really a no-brainer. We are both very active and reasonably fit for our vintage, so we don’t have any reason to think the worst. But there’s no harm in checking, and having a ‘pass’ now would make any future decision much simpler.

I will look into the options and please any advice would be welcome.

Still have my fingers crossed for your house sale Fisher1.

[gafuk]

Hi nanajan, I have pondered the different scenarios and our first problem is we haven't got all of the funds in our bank and need to have the house sold to complete our finance.  We are both fit ( ish) and no known serious medical problems so we are optimistic ( if not just hopeful ) that we will be accepted medically. Yes, if something horrible came up on the medical we would buy somewhere smaller anyway .

I wonder if immigration read these posts?  I do feel they should offer a lot more information about what medical conditions are accepted, probable timelines for lodgement dates etc. This is such a radical change of circumstances where "we" are selling homes, everything we have spent our lives achieving . I have a business to wrap up, finances to sort out With tax , vat etc Without  knowing when or if we will get a visa granted. All this and we are paying a handsome sum of money , which I believe is justified, to be with our children. They are young and love their new lives and country and want  spend their working lives contributing to Australias future. If we cannot join them I doubt they would be as sure.

I hope to make Australia my home  and contibute to its future also. Would love some more info to lessen the guesswork and therefore stress!  At this point I should sing the national anthem but I have not got to that page in the handbook yet !

thanks again everyone for any information posted 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SusieRoo]

1 hour ago, gafuk said:

Hi nanajan, I have pondered the different scenarios and our first problem is we haven't got all of the funds in our bank and need to have the house sold to complete our finance.  We are both fit ( ish) and no known serious medical problems so we are optimistic ( if not just hopeful ) that we will be accepted medically. Yes, if something horrible came up on the medical we would buy somewhere smaller anyway .

I wonder if immigration read these posts?  I do feel they should offer a lot more information about what medical conditions are accepted, probable timelines for lodgement dates etc. This is such a radical change of circumstances where "we" are selling homes, everything we have spent our lives achieving . I have a business to wrap up, finances to sort out With tax , vat etc Without  knowing when or if we will get a visa granted. All this and we are paying a handsome sum of money , which I believe is justified, to be with our children. They are young and love their new lives and country and want  spend their working lives contributing to Australias future. If we cannot join them I doubt they would be as sure.

I hope to make Australia my home  and contibute to its future also. Would love some more info to lessen the guesswork and therefore stress!  At this point I should sing the national anthem but I have not got to that page in the handbook yet !

thanks again everyone for any information posted

I can feel your frustration and you’re not alone in needing to use some equity from your home to fund your visa.

In practical terms, how much time do you get to pay the 2nd vac? You are now very close to medicals etc. and I guess things can move quickly from there.

I know its taken ages for Catlady2014, but that’s probably due to the finical year-end, and is not typical for most visas (I think Fisher1’s was less that 8 weeks).

Following on from my earlier post about medicals, it would be useful to know we have time to sit the medical (and get some feedback), before having to raise the cash for the 2nd vac.

Can anyone shed some light on these timings?

[AMP]

On 05/07/2017 at 23:39, NanaJan said:

 

We are on holiday as we speak. Homeless, unemployed and reliant on public transport! I am normally a pessimistic sort but I don't think we have any medical issues.  But hey, if we fail them then there will be something seriously wrong so we will have a massive holiday, to hell with the cost, and go back to the UK if and when we absolutely have to!

Funnily enough I have tried to book our medicals today but the site seems to be playing up with dates. I'll try again later.

Well Nanajan, it looks as though I will be joining you and many others on the "holiday route" as I have now accepted an offer on my house so will also soon be homeless.  It's a bit scary, particularly whenever I consider the potential medical (who knows what could crop up in the time before I have to do the final stages for my 143).   I'm going to go out on a 600 tourist visa as soon as my house is sold and whilst waiting for my 143 to be processed which is likely to be another 18 months or so.  Trying to reason it all out, I'm reckoning like you that if something serious crops up in the interim then I will at least have spent as much time as I can with my family in Australia. Worst case scenario is that I will just have to come back and buy or rent another home in the UK.  Life is full of risks, and I reckon that all of us who are planning to move to Oz have to be in that risk taker category - otherwise we wouldn't even be considering leaving the comfort and security of what is currently "home"! 

Good luck to those of you who are nearly there.  I must admit that the forum has become more upbeat again lately since we have started to see a bit of movement again!

[Jellybean T]

7 minutes ago, AMP said:

Well Nanajan, it looks as though I will be joining you and many others on the "holiday route" as I have now accepted an offer on my house so will also soon be homeless.  It's a bit scary, particularly whenever I consider the potential medical (who knows what could crop up in the time before I have to do the final stages for my 143).   I'm going to go out on a 600 tourist visa as soon as my house is sold and whilst waiting for my 143 to be processed which is likely to be another 18 months or so.  Trying to reason it all out, I'm reckoning like you that if something serious crops up in the interim then I will at least have spent as much time as I can with my family in Australia. Worst case scenario is that I will just have to come back and buy or rent another home in the UK.  Life is full of risks, and I reckon that all of us who are planning to move to Oz have to be in that risk taker category - otherwise we wouldn't even be considering leaving the comfort and security of what is currently "home"! 

Good luck to those of you who are nearly there.  I must admit that the forum has become more upbeat again lately since we have started to see a bit of movement again!

Congratulations on the house!  I hope everything goes through smoothly for you. As you so rightly say life is full of risks! Taking these risks is what keeps the excitement in our lives, if we don't take a risk every now and then we'd never do anything new. We sold up and moved to Spain 13 years ago and haven't regretted it for a minute, everyday has a new challenge with the language but we love it. Only going to Australia to be close to the Grandchildren and give the kids a bit of support.  So looking forward to the new challenge. ....just need to sell up here first! 

[AMP]

1 hour ago, Jellybean T said:

Congratulations on the house!  I hope everything goes through smoothly for you. As you so rightly say life is full of risks! Taking these risks is what keeps the excitement in our lives, if we don't take a risk every now and then we'd never do anything new. We sold up and moved to Spain 13 years ago and haven't regretted it for a minute, everyday has a new challenge with the language but we love it. Only going to Australia to be close to the Grandchildren and give the kids a bit of support.  So looking forward to the new challenge. ....just need to sell up here first! 

Yes, we also loved the challenge of doing something different.  For us it was France for 11 years and that was fabulous, though it took some time getting totally to grips with the language and both adapting to and integrating into the totally different French culture!  We were in a non ex pat area where hardly anyone spoke English - at least we won't have that challenge to face when we finally move to Australia.  That said, I'm conscious that there has already been quite a lot of Ozzy vocabulary I have had to learn, and the culture is also quite different!

Good  luck with getting a buyer for your home, I presume you have already put it on the market? In terms of the eventual 143s you and I are on exactly the same time frame so we will be closely watching each other's progress and comparing notes!

[Kathss56]

12 hours ago, SusieRoo said:

I can feel your frustration and you’re not alone in needing to use some equity from your home to fund your visa.

In practical terms, how much time do you get to pay the 2nd vac? You are now very close to medicals etc. and I guess things can move quickly from there.

I know its taken ages for Catlady2014, but that’s probably due to the finical year-end, and is not typical for most visas (I think Fisher1’s was less that 8 weeks).

Following on from my earlier post about medicals, it would be useful to know we have time to sit the medical (and get some feedback), before having to raise the cash for the 2nd vac.

Can anyone shed some light on these timings?

I believe you have a month to pay 2nd vac. ? Also my local clinic for the medical is a Spire hospital so I'm sure you could go for a pre check up as it is a private one. You just have to pay. It does tell you immi online where you can go. Just enter your area for list to come up 

Edited July 7, 2017 by Kathss56

[Jellybean T]

3 hours ago, AMP said:

Yes, we also loved the challenge of doing something different.  For us it was France for 11 years and that was fabulous, though it took some time getting totally to grips with the language and both adapting to and integrating into the totally different French culture!  We were in a non ex pat area where hardly anyone spoke English - at least we won't have that challenge to face when we finally move to Australia.  That said, I'm conscious that there has already been quite a lot of Ozzy vocabulary I have had to learn, and the culture is also quite different!

Good  luck with getting a buyer for your home, I presume you have already put it on the market? In terms of the eventual 143s you and I are on exactly the same time frame so we will be closely watching each other's progress and comparing notes!

Yes house has been on the market since the beginning of the year but not much moving in our area...still nice to have one more summer here anyway. As you say time lines are the same so we'll know each other quite well by the time we get visas. ..I'm hoping by the end of next year we should be settled in  Adelaide.  We have another Granddaughter due in November so I have my flights booked and something to look forward to. Leaving the old man here to keep the dog company!  Love reading all the posts from everyone. 

[SusieRoo]

1 hour ago, Kathss56 said:

I believe you have a month to pay 2nd vac. ? Also my local clinic for the medical is a Spire hospital so I'm sure you could go for a pre check up as it is a private one. You just have to pay. It does tell you immi online where you can go. Just enter your area for list to come up 

Thank you for the info Kathss56, my husband has an appointment next week for a knee injury at Spire, so I will make enquirers while there.

A month is not long to pay the 2nd vac, so we would really need to have everything in place, long before taking the medicals. So difficult to workout when this will be. I can fully understand anyone selling up well in advance, as house sales are slow here too at the moment. It's a 'catch 22' situation and grossly unfair, IMMI could be so much more transparent with such unpredictability in the processing times.

No reply to the test email today (we normally get a Friday update) but the last one was showing about 34 months processing, but immi's global page is showing 44 months (for 173s). That's a big disparity if you need to plan when to sell your home, and devastating if you cut it too fine.

I know the application says to have all funds in place when applying, which is fine if you are only planning of a few months. But 18 months, 2 years, 3 years and now possibly 4 years, it's completely unreasonable to expect anyone to live in temporary uk accommodation for this ever increasing length of time.

Even for a risk-averse scaredy cat like me, the idea of joining the rest of you 600'ers is very appealing.

Good luck to everyone!

[Fisher1]

6 hours ago, Jellybean T said:

Congratulations on the house!  I hope everything goes through smoothly for you. As you so rightly say life is full of risks! Taking these risks is what keeps the excitement in our lives, if we don't take a risk every now and then we'd never do anything new. We sold up and moved to Spain 13 years ago and haven't regretted it for a minute, everyday has a new challenge with the language but we love it. Only going to Australia to be close to the Grandchildren and give the kids a bit of support.  So looking forward to the new challenge. ....just need to sell up here first! 

Totally agree. We moved to Luxembourg in 1985 on a one year contract, thought it would be a bit of an adventure, stayed fifteen years. Life is for living, as they say. We made our home in Belgium for nine years post Luxembourg and only really came back to the UK for my mum. If it wasn't for our daughter deciding to go backpacking to Australia for a year (in 2004) we'd be heading to Spain now ... it certainly makes life interesting. By the way, does everyone know that you have to have police clearance for every country you have lived in during the ten years prior to your 143 being (hopefully) issued?

[Fisher1]

5 minutes ago, SusieRoo said:

Thank you for the info Kathss56, my husband has an appointment next week for a knee injury at Spire, so I will make enquirers while there.

A month is not long to pay the 2nd vac, so we would really need to have everything in place, long before taking the medicals. So difficult to workout when this will be. I can fully understand anyone selling up well in advance, as house sales are slow here too at the moment. It's a 'catch 22' situation and grossly unfair, IMMI could be so much more transparent with such unpredictability in the processing times.

No reply to the test email today (we normally get a Friday update) but the last one was showing about 34 months processing, but immi's global page is showing 44 months (for 173s). That's a big disparity if you need to plan when to sell your home, and devastating if you cut it too fine.

I know the application says to have all funds in place when applying, which is fine if you are only planning of a few months. But 18 months, 2 years, 3 years and now possibly 4 years, it's completely unreasonable to expect anyone to live in temporary uk accommodation for this ever increasing length of time.

Even for a risk-averse scaredy cat like me, the idea of joining the rest of you 600'ers is very appealing.

Good luck to everyone!

Someone on here a couple of years ago took out a small mortgage to cover the visa costs and repaid when they sold the house ...

[Kathss56]

19 minutes ago, SusieRoo said:

Thank you for the info Kathss56, my husband has an appointment next week for a knee injury at Spire, so I will make enquirers while there.

A month is not long to pay the 2nd vac, so we would really need to have everything in place, long before taking the medicals. So difficult to workout when this will be. I can fully understand anyone selling up well in advance, as house sales are slow here too at the moment. It's a 'catch 22' situation and grossly unfair, IMMI could be so much more transparent with such unpredictability in the processing times.

No reply to the test email today (we normally get a Friday update) but the last one was showing about 34 months processing, but immi's global page is showing 44 months (for 173s). That's a big disparity if you need to plan when to sell your home, and devastating if you cut it too fine.

I know the application says to have all funds in place when applying, which is fine if you are only planning of a few months. But 18 months, 2 years, 3 years and now possibly 4 years, it's completely unreasonable to expect anyone to live in temporary uk accommodation for this ever increasing length of time.

Even for a risk-averse scaredy cat like me, the idea of joining the rest of you 600'ers is very appealing.

Good luck to everyone!

Just looked on Immi at northern England medical centre addresses again. Seems they only use one Nuffield hospital in central Manchester for the whole of the North of England????!!!

[Nemesis]

1 hour ago, Kathss56 said:

Just looked on Immi at northern England medical centre addresses again. Seems they only use one Nuffield hospital in central Manchester for the whole of the North of England????!!!

Sounds probable. There are not many places approved to do medicals these days.

[Kathss56]

34 minutes ago, Nemesis said:

Sounds probable. There are not many places approved to do medicals these days.

There was end of last year when I looked. Spire for example, was Quite a few in the North. I could have gone to three! Now only one it to seems. Not very fair for people who don't live near Mcr. Probably charge more now they are the only one!

Edited July 7, 2017 by Kathss56

[Fisher1]

1 hour ago, Kathss56 said:

There was end of last year when I looked. Spire for example, was Quite a few in the North. I could have gone to three! Now only one it to seems. Not very fair for people who don't live near Mcr. Probably charge more now they are the only one!

We did ours in Manchester, had to travel from North Wales.

[Kathss56]

10 minutes ago, Fisher1 said:

We did ours in Manchester, had to travel from North Wales.

So unfair. Not sure why it is now down to one company. It's in the city and  not great for parking. Lots of roadworks! 

[SusieRoo]

48 minutes ago, Kathss56 said:

So unfair. Not sure why it is now down to one company. It's in the city and  not great for parking. Lots of roadworks! 

Just looking at the Nuffield website.

They are asking £300 per test and then say you can’t know the results ???? (Excuse me, we’re humans, not cattle)

Whoever wrote the rulebook for this visa process must really dislike immigrants.

Oh well it's Friday and nearly wine’o’clock.

[Kathss56]

8 minutes ago, SusieRoo said:

Just looking at the Nuffield website.

They are asking £300 per test and then say you can’t know the results ???? (Excuse me, we’re humans, not cattle)

Whoever wrote the rulebook for this visa process must really dislike immigrants.

Oh well it's Friday and nearly wine’o’clock.

It was about £250 not so long ago!

early doors for me 

[nyorksgrannie]

5 hours ago, Kathss56 said:

Just looked on Immi at northern England medical centre addresses again. Seems they only use one Nuffield hospital in central Manchester for the whole of the North of England????!!!

We should all know by now that this is not for our convenience or expense incurred and I suppose by Australia standards the distance is not that great - glad we are not in Scotland!

[Fisher1]

We made a day out of it and had a nice lunch in Manchester afterwards. can't remember how much we paid (Feb2016) but it was a lot less then £300!

[Kathss56]

Daughter home tomorrow, ache temporarily suspended!  6mths later I will be with them for Xmas. Am thinking 6mths after that the request will come for medical, police checks etc .  So counting down positively every 6 Months. I will get to the "other side of the world" as they say!!  ?

[Pertenhall]

Some interesting reading which was posted on another forum.  Lots more figures to conjure with but I don't think it gets us any closer to calculating our timescales.  Have a good weekend everyone!

From the "Report on Migration Programme 2015-16" available at https://www.border.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/statistics/2015-16-migration-programme-report.pdf:

 "Contributory Parent

The Contributory Parent category outcome for 2015–16 was 7175 places. Demand for places in the Contributory Parent category decreased by 567 applications (or 4.4 per cent) between 30 June 2015 and 30 June 2016. As at 30 June 2016, 29,591 clients remain in the pipeline, an increase of 16.1 per cent compared to the pipeline as at 30 June 2015."

 Other yearly statistics and trends are at: https://www.border.gov.au/about/reports-publications/research-statistics/statistics/live-in-australia/migration-programme