PhoebeW Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 I think we may well have had the same doctor! He was joking away and had us in stitches! Blood pressure??? What blood pressure!!!! If I need a medical anytime in the future you need to tell me who your GP was. :biggrin: My healths been a joke for the past 11 months :swoon: Phoebe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mengancun Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Thank you a lot for your reply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicolac34 Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Hi everyone! I just wondered if I could pick your brains on the 143 vs 173 parent visas. My parents are at the beginning stages of their application (waiting for my PR to come through, my brother will be the sponsor as he's been here since Nov 2009) and we've been discussing the merits of which visa to go for. They like the idea of spreading the cost of the visa as it would give them more money to come out to Australia with and wouldn't be such a major struggle to raise the money in the short-term, as they'd be relying on the sale of their house to fund the second VAC payment and obviously not being able to predict when their visa might be processed leaves them wondering what to do! Dad was asking today whether or not being on the 173 temp parent visa would impact his ability to get a job and get a house - does anyone have any theory on this? My parents are currently 56 and 53 so would be wanting to work for probably another 10 years when they move out to Australia to offset the huge cost of moving and the exchange rate. I'm sure I'll have endless more questions as we start this process, such as proving 'settled' which I'm trying to wrap my head around! Thanks Nicola Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
summerdaisy Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Hi Nicola, I applied for the 173 for the same reason, I cant afford the 143. I will apply for the 143 when I am there a few months and see how I am going workwise etc in getting the money together for it. I am 57 and have no pension so I will be looking for work too. You do have the right to work on the 173, sorry I don't know anything about the housing situation. There is a lot of form filling and documents needed to apply for the visas but once there are sent off then its just a matter of waiting. Best of luck, Fran. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhoebeW Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Hi everyone! I just wondered if I could pick your brains on the 143 vs 173 parent visas. My parents are at the beginning stages of their application (waiting for my PR to come through, my brother will be the sponsor as he's been here since Nov 2009) and we've been discussing the merits of which visa to go for. They like the idea of spreading the cost of the visa as it would give them more money to come out to Australia with and wouldn't be such a major struggle to raise the money in the short-term, as they'd be relying on the sale of their house to fund the second VAC payment and obviously not being able to predict when their visa might be processed leaves them wondering what to do! Dad was asking today whether or not being on the 173 temp parent visa would impact his ability to get a job and get a house - does anyone have any theory on this? My parents are currently 56 and 53 so would be wanting to work for probably another 10 years when they move out to Australia to offset the huge cost of moving and the exchange rate. I'm sure I'll have endless more questions as we start this process, such as proving 'settled' which I'm trying to wrap my head around! Thanks Nicola Hi Nicola I initially wanted to apply for the 173 but hubby thought the 143 would be better. The only difference I could see was if you go for the 143 (and get it) your residency starts straight away but, you still don't get a pension for 10 years and it's means tested even if you reach pensionable age in Oz so if you got a 143 April 2012 you wouldn't be eligable for a pension until April 2022 if you are pensionable age at that time. If you go for the 173 (and got it in April 2012) and lets say you 'upgraded' to 143 in 1 year April 2013, your 10 years would not start until then and you wouldn't be eligable for pension until April 2023 if you are pensionable age at that time. The other thing of course is spreading the cost :eek: I went with hubbys suggestion straight for the 143 but when we got our CO (last half of last year) I had to cancel the application :cry: as we just didn't have the funds, it was a costly lesson as we lost the original application fee :swoon: so please tell your parents to look very carefully at both visas and good luck to them :wink: Phoebe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest smurfette77 Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Hi everyone, I would like to apply for a parent visa for my mother but am not sure if she meets the balance of family test. My mother has 4 children (including me). I am living in Australia, my three siblings are based in three different countries UK, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. As none of us live in the same countries am I able to sponsor my mother to move to Australia with me? My mother lives in Canada. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikenSueNW3 Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 (edited) Hi everyone, I would like to apply for a parent visa for my mother but am not sure if she meets the balance of family test. My mother has 4 children (including me). I am living in Australia, my three siblings are based in three different countries UK, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. As none of us live in the same countries am I able to sponsor my mother to move to Australia with me? My mother lives in Canada. Thanks! G'day I'm afraid the answer is no. At least half of your mother's children (ie, in her case, 2) have to be settled in Oz for her to get a parent visa. Mike PS: Sorry to have been so blunt, but with bureaucrats there's very little scope for bending the rules. There may be a way to get round your problem, but I'm afraid I don't know how Edited April 24, 2012 by MikenSueNW3 PS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sunshine pm Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Hello I'm new to the site! I would be so grateful for your suggestions/advise on your experience moving over to Australia. I want to help my parents make the move as smooth and 'stress free' as possible, they are getting quite anxious and apprehensive with all the preparations and they are also of course worried about the exchange rate, which I know everyone is who is heading over. My parents have recently accepted an offer for their house and getting ready to move over to Perth - they are coming on the contributory parents Visa which they validated 2 years ago, they should be over in Perth by July. They are both in their late 60's from cumbria. They are in the process of selling,sorting and arranging both possessions and finances. It is a big step for them at their age and although they are looking forward to spending more time with us. My husband & I and their first grandchild, who was born in November last year, live near Esperance (for another year with my husbands job but then moving back up to Perth) and my brother, he also lives in Perth with his wife. Who did you transfer your money over with - I have seen HIFX and MoneyCorp advertising on the BE site? Who did you use to transfer your pension? - dad has a private one he can bring over How you have settled and in what area? Is there anything you would do differently? Any general advise for them? They do have a financial advisor here they are staring to liaise with but not sure who to use for transferring pensions and money. I really hope my folks are doing the right thing....Are you glad you made the move or do you have any regrets? I'm sorry if these questions/answers have already been covered, if they have can someone point me in the right direction/ Thank you in advance for any help! Suzie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikenSueNW3 Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 (edited) Hello I'm new to the site! I would be so grateful for your suggestions/advise on your experience moving over to Australia. Who did you transfer your money over with - I have seen HIFX and MoneyCorp advertising on the BE site? Who did you use to transfer your pension? - dad has a private one he can bring over They do have a financial advisor here they are staring to liaise with but not sure who to use for transferring pensions and money. Thank you in advance for any help! Suzie G'day Suzie I can only give limited advice on bits of your question, but we have used UKForex (aka OzForex) to transfer money and been very happy with them – much better and cheaper (in terms of fees and exchange rate) than using our UK bank except that you have to work out a quick and efficient way to transfer the £££ from your own UK account to theirs once the transfer is arranged and the rate set. (There is I think a quite low limit on how much you can transfer electronically without the bank's intervention.) Secondly, on pension transfers, if you Google QROPS you will find a plethora of firms able and willing to do this, but I'll have to leave it to others to comment on individual experiences… However, have a look at http://www.qropschoices.com/, which seems to be independent. Good luck, Mike Edited April 24, 2012 by MikenSueNW3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikenSueNW3 Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 G'Day All Just to let you know that we received the letter from our CO today, 132 days from our acknowledgement date, for "upgrading" our 173 visas to 143s. (I guess the Xmas–New Year break delayed things marginally.) Now all we need is for everyone to help the recent move in exchange rates by talking up the £ against the A$!!! Good luck to everyone on the waiting list. Mike and Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhoebeW Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 My daughter opened a bank account in Oz and I transfer money using Forex they are very helpful and friendly :biggrin: Phoebe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathandtone Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Hello I'm new to the site! Hi Suzie I won't try and pretend it's easy settling here, I'm sure you've had a few hiccups along the way and I don't suppose your parents will be any different. But no regrets overall. We use Ozforex/Ukforex as other people have already mentioned here. We have found them good and very helpful. Our UK bank will only let us transfer £10,000 per day so that can cause a few issues. I wonder whether Dad is already drawing his private pension since you say he is in his late 60s. I'm not sure on the position if he is, it might be a little more tricky. We have no pension pot here, all our money is coming from the UK so we are at the mercy of the exchange rates but we have had few problems getting our pension providers to pay our pensions direct to our Aus bank account. After a lot of thought we decided to settle in the Perth northern suburbs (Clarkson) and we like it up here, the local shopping centre is excellent and we are close to the beaches and Joondalup. The railway runs from Currambine directly to Perth and we travel for free using our Seniors Card, after 9 and before 3 I think the times are. I never cease to be amazed at how helpful people can be in the shops and our local library in particular. Our medical care has been second to none and most of our GP visits are bulk billed so no direct costs to us. Any referrals we have had have been sorted out really quickly. Prescriptions can be expensive but will get cheaper when we can apply for our Commonwealth Seniors Cards. The biggest downside has been the fall out from the awful exchange rate, when we began the process it was $2.5 to the £1, heady days! We have just had to get on with it. We've made some lovely friends here and I think that's a very important aspect of the move. Good luck to your parents. Cath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sunshine pm Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 (edited) Hi Suzie I won't try and pretend it's easy settling here, I'm sure you've had a few hiccups along the way and I don't suppose your parents will be any different. But no regrets overall. We use Ozforex/Ukforex as other people have already mentioned here. We have found them good and very helpful. Our UK bank will only let us transfer £10,000 per day so that can cause a few issues. I wonder whether Dad is already drawing his private pension since you say he is in his late 60s. I'm not sure on the position if he is, it might be a little more tricky. We have no pension pot here, all our money is coming from the UK so we are at the mercy of the exchange rates but we have had few problems getting our pension providers to pay our pensions direct to our Aus bank account. After a lot of thought we decided to settle in the Perth northern suburbs (Clarkson) and we like it up here, the local shopping centre is excellent and we are close to the beaches and Joondalup. The railway runs from Currambine directly to Perth and we travel for free using our Seniors Card, after 9 and before 3 I think the times are. I never cease to be amazed at how helpful people can be in the shops and our local library in particular. Our medical care has been second to none and most of our GP visits are bulk billed so no direct costs to us. Any referrals we have had have been sorted out really quickly. Prescriptions can be expensive but will get cheaper when we can apply for our Commonwealth Seniors Cards. The biggest downside has been the fall out from the awful exchange rate, when we began the process it was $2.5 to the £1, heady days! We have just had to get on with it. We've made some lovely friends here and I think that's a very important aspect of the move. Good luck to your parents. Cath Thank you both Mike and Cath for your honest advice and sharing your experience. I will pass on this information and any other's advice. Glad you enjoying your new life here! Edited April 24, 2012 by sunshine pm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sunshine pm Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 Just wanted to ask if there were any 'meet ups' coming up that mum & dad might be able to go to once they get here - looking like July/August? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathandtone Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 Just wanted to ask if there were any 'meet ups' coming up that mum & dad might be able to go to once they get here - looking like July/August? Hi Suzie Pm me nearer the time and we will gladly arrange a meet for your parents. Cath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sunshine pm Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 Hi SuziePm me nearer the time and we will gladly arrange a meet for your parents. Cath Thanks Cath! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Just wanted to ask if there were any 'meet ups' coming up that mum & dad might be able to go to once they get here - looking like July/August? Hi If your parents or you to look on facebook for PiP's (Pommes in Perth) Barbara that sort of heads it up arranges/coordinates meetings on about a monthly basis. We are hoping to join the next one as just arrived last Wednesday. best of luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebergie Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Applying for PR. My wife and I are both GPs. Question about my wife's mother. She is 79, good health, has two children, lives with us, and we have been supporting her financially for years. Can she come in as a dependent person from the UK on our visa? One migration agent says yes and one says no way because she could fall back on the UK state so isn't strictly dependent and don't even think about trying it because it will gum up your own application. This second agent says this is meant for third world family dependents where there is no state welfare to fall back on. Comments gratefully received. Thanks, David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mengancun Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 hi, I think she will not be considered your dependent because the criteria are very strict. In her case, she has 2 children so she will not meet the criteria. Anyway, you can include her in your application. If she is not considered your dependent, they will ask you to take her name out, that 's all. That's what happened to my application. cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freesia Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 I think she will not be considered to be dependent on you because she lives in the UK- & pensioners in the Uk are state-supported - this seems to be what the 2nd agent is suggesting....(the rules appear to be different for countries which do not provide state pensions for the elderly- thus the parents may be financially dependent on their children).. lots of adult children in the UK "help out" parents (mine do sometimes :cute: but that doesn't make me dependent on them for migration purposes-I wish !!. as long as your MIL passes the BOF test she can certainly apply for a CPV though.. any doubts at all & its worth getting MARA advice Mengancun- why did they disallow in your particular case? was that linked to the State Pension situation?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebergie Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 I think she will not be considered to be dependent on you because she lives in the UK- & pensioners in the Uk are state-supported - this seems to be what the 2nd agent is suggesting....(the rules appear to be different for countries which do not provide state pensions for the elderly- thus the parents may be financially dependent on their children).. lots of adult children in the UK "help out" parents (mine do sometimes :cute: but that doesn't make me dependent on them for migration purposes-I wish !!. as long as your MIL passes the BOF test she can certainly apply for a CPV though.. any doubts at all & its worth getting MARA advice Mengancun- why did they disallow in your particular case? was that linked to the State Pension situation?? Thanks. I think we won't risk including her. There seems little point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mengancun Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 I came from one of "countries which do not provide state pensions", mum is single and I am her only child. We (hubby and kids) used to live with her till we came to Oz on a student visa, and surely we paid for everything but we did not have evidence. She came with us on some tourist visa... Her dependency was refused with the reason that "she needs to live with you 24/24"! that's what I was told. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikenSueNW3 Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Thanks. I think we won't risk including her. There seems little point. G'day David Don't give up on this just yet; I'm sending you a private message. Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freesia Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Michael-well if there's any way around it- I'd be delighted to hear too....that could be very useful information thanks.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikenSueNW3 Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Michael-well if there's any way around it- I'd be delighted to hear too....that could be very useful information thanks.... I have PMed you. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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