The Brand New PIO Parents Visa thread

[Sadge]

Yes, I've got that.  I want to be able to compare rates without having to contact each transfer company.   

[Catlady2014]

5 minutes ago, Sadge said:

Yes, I've got that.  I want to be able to compare rates without having to contact each transfer company.   

In all honesty, the rates differ very little between the currency dealers - at least that's been my experience and I've used three different ones.  But you really need to register with one or two or even more, so that you're ready to do the transfer as soon as the rate is at a level that you want.  Otherwise, by the time you've gone through all the formalities with your chosen dealer, the rate will have changed again.  The dealers I've used make no charge (although one of them charges £8.50 on smaller deals), but I've found that the banks at the other end take off $15 to £25, but that's no problem really.

Edited December 4, 2017 by Catlady2014

[Pertenhall]

4 hours ago, superman2016 said:

Hi Roomie,

Has any applicant who lodged on May 2015 received an invite from DIBP?

Kev

 

I hope not yet - it will really depress me if they start asking May applications for additional paperwork before we have heard anything!!

[Kathss56]

4 hours ago, superman2016 said:

Hi Roomie,

Has any applicant who lodged on May 2015 received an invite from DIBP?

Kev

 

I doubt it. Currently around 5 March date being worked on 

[Ray and Geri]

2 hours ago, Catlady2014 said:

In all honesty, the rates differ very little between the currency dealers - at least that's been my experience and I've used three different ones.  But you really need to register with one or two or even more, so that you're ready to do the transfer as soon as the rate is at a level that you want.  Otherwise, by the time you've gone through all the formalities with your chosen dealer, the rate will have changed again.  The dealers I've used make no charge (although one of them charges £8.50 on smaller deals), but I've found that the banks at the other end take off $15 to £25, but that's no problem really.

In my expierience TransferWise is the only one that gives you a rate online that you will get for 24 hours....The others ( and I've tried a few ) give you the bank rate on line but when you actually change your money thats when you realise the bank rate quoted is not what you get. And "no fee charged" is rubbish if you don't get a good exchange rate in the first place. But as Catlady2014 says, get registered ( it doesn't cost anything ) then you are ready to go.

 

[Catlady2014]

1 minute ago, Ray and Geri said:

In my expierience TransferWise is the only one that gives you a rate online that you will get for 24 hours....The others ( and I've tried a few ) give you the bank rate on line but when you actually change your money thats when you realise the bank rate quoted is not what you get. And "no fee charged" is rubbish if you don't get a good exchange rate in the first place. But as Catlady2014 says, get registered ( it doesn't cost anything ) then you are ready to go.

 

I get the rate quote and "book" the deal at that quoted rate, then it doesn't change; and I have either 24 or 48 hours to pay for the booked deal at the booked rate.  I haven't experienced the rate changing.  But that brings to mind another point - make sure your bank know what you're doing, because the last thing you need is for your bank to block online access to your account if it looks like "suspicious activity" - and then you have no means of paying for your booked deal.  

[Ray and Geri]

5 minutes ago, Catlady2014 said:

I get the rate quote and "book" the deal at that quoted rate, then it doesn't change; and I have either 24 or 48 hours to pay for the booked deal at the booked rate.  I haven't experienced the rate changing.  But that brings to mind another point - make sure your bank know what you're doing, because the last thing you need is for your bank to block online access to your account if it looks like "suspicious activity" - and then you have no means of paying for your booked deal.  

But is that online or do you have to phone and get the rate?

[Catlady2014]

8 minutes ago, Ray and Geri said:

But is that online or do you have to phone and get the rate?

One of my dealers gives me a great rate, whether online or on the phone, and that rate does not change once it's booked. The second one (that  I also use regularly) is one I only deal with by phone.  No charges, except for the phone dealer if it was a smaller transfer.  They both give very similar rates, varying by maybe only a quarter of a cent.  As I say, there's not much in it.  

[Ray and Geri]

13 minutes ago, Catlady2014 said:

One of my dealers gives me a great rate, whether online or on the phone, and that rate does not change once it's booked. The second one (that  I also use regularly) is one I only deal with by phone.  No charges, except for the phone dealer if it was a smaller transfer.  They both give very similar rates, varying by maybe only a quarter of a cent.  As I say, there's not much in it.  

Sounds good, who are they?

[Catlady2014]

9 minutes ago, Ray and Geri said:

Sounds good, who are they?

I'll private message you as we're not supposed to link to companies on here.

[SusieRoo]

4 hours ago, Sadge said:

Was that after fees & charges?

I've been looking for a comparison site for rates where you can just put the amount in you want to transfer.  The sites I've looked at seem to require that you register to get a quote.

Transferwise charge 0.45% plus £1 for each transaction, so for £1,000 it would cost £5.50 (£4.50 in fees plus £1) and for £10,000 it would cost £46 (£45 in fees plus £1). But you get the full 'Mid Market' rate (fixed for 24 hours) and it's all very transparent easy to see exactly what everything is.

Basically if you google the exchange rate, then that's what you get with Transferwise. And because the rate is better than a no fee service, it sill works out favorably overall.

I think you do have to register online to get a quote, but this is free with no strings attached.

I personally dislike and distrust banks and believe they deliberately make their products confusing to maximise profits. So Transferwise is like a breath of fresh air, nothing hidden and very simple to use (and no sales calls or getting bombarded with emails).

I did once have to contact my uk bank before they released a payment, just to confirm it was genuine (which was reassuring).

Edited December 4, 2017 by SusieRoo

[Sadge]

I've used Moneycorps up til now who will book for 7 days which gives plenty of time to get to the bank and transfer funds.  It would just be good to be able to easily check rates offered by different companies, without having to register with them all individually.

[LindaH27]

Any good ? https://www.money.co.uk/money-transfers/money-transfer-to-australia.htm

 

Edited December 4, 2017 by LindaH27

[LindaH27]

Or this https://travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com/holiday-money/

http://www.mycurrencytransfer.com/money-transfer-to-Australia/2000-GBP

 

Or this one give reviews on best companies https://moneytransfercomparison.com/

Edited December 4, 2017 by LindaH27

[Marg]

We always use fairfx for our transfers, can get instan quote online without logging in and no charges.

[suelear]

On 03/12/2017 at 20:26, LindaH27 said:

From what I can gather  retirement investors have no access to Medicare and have private medical insurance so it would come down to whether the doctors were happy you fit the criteria for Medicare. I do hope everything goes ok for you both - as Catlady says - at our ages we are more likely to have problems. !! It's one of my concerns too especially as I have probably another 2+ years to wait and obviously getting older all the time! Maybe seek professional advice? Good luck ! 

I'm in the same situation as you Linda, but as others have said, this is a parent visa so some medical issue are inevitable as one gets older. One would hope that, as long as any medical issues that have already been identified are appropriately managed, there shouldn't be an issue. I've certainly read of others who have had cancer and other life changing illnesses who have been granted their visa. Good luck all!

[KathleenandCraig]

Hi Folks

My parents are over at the moment on what I believe is a 3 years subclass 600 visa that allows them to spend 12 months in 18 months with multiple entries. Can anyone tell me if the visa conditions splits the 3 year visa into two consecutive 18 month periods with multiple entries? Or is it a case they can only be in country for 12 months of any 18 month period during that 3 year period (i.e. the 18 month windows are not consecutive)?

The reason being they:

• Arrived in August 2016
• Left OZ in late April 2017 (approx 9 months in Oz minus a 7 day Bali trip)
• Arrived back in Oz in late November 2017 (approx 6 months out of OZ)

They are not sure if they have to leave in November 2018 or February 2019? They are hoping they have 3 months of the first 18 months to use first, then they go into the second 18 month window (where they could stay another 12 months).

Or is it a case they have now started a new 12/18 month window, regardless of the fact they only spent 9/15 months in Oz since they activated the 3 year visa. In a way wasting 3 months of time they could of been in OZ.

They have been to the local visa centre but no help and no response to their email they sent 60 days ago.

Any help is appreciated

Cheers

C&K

[Alan Collett]

Can you copy and paste the period of stay conditions from the visitor visa grant notice?

Best regards.

[rookshana]

Hi all, I am new to this forum. I have been following this forum since Feb 2015 and would like to thank you all for such wonderful and interesting  information. I have lodged my application  on 24 Feb 2015 and have not yet heard anything from DIBP. Should I be worried  about it? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance for any information.

[KathleenandCraig]

4 hours ago, Alan Collett said:

Can you copy and paste the period of stay conditions from the visitor visa grant notice?

Best regards.

Hi Alan

it states:

“12 month(s) from the date of each arrival”

and has the following conditions:

8503 - NO FURTHER STAY
8558 - MAXIMUM 12 MONTHS STAY IN 18 MONTHS 8501 - MAINTAIN HEALTH INSURANCE
8101 - NO WORK
8201 - MAXIMUM 3 MONTHS STUDY

Any advice?

Cheers

Craig
                                                                                                      

 

[SusieRoo]

6 hours ago, rookshana said:

Hi all, I am new to this forum. I have been following this forum since Feb 2015 and would like to thank you all for such wonderful and interesting  information. I have lodged my application  on 24 Feb 2015 and have not yet heard anything from DIBP. Should I be worried  about it? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance for any information.

Welcome!

The official position from immi today is "We are currently assessing applications lodged up to and including 05 March 2015". So no need to worry yet, but you should expect to hear something in the next week to 10 days.

Immi isn't exactly consistent at your stage of the processes, so it would not be unusual to see parents with similar lodgement dates getting their emails weeks apart.    

Also, worth also checking your email junk/spam folder and definitely worth downloading and completing form 80 in anticipation.

I hope this helps and I know it must be a worry (but still very exciting!)

[SusieRoo]

8 hours ago, KathleenandCraig said:

Hi Folks

My parents are over at the moment on what I believe is a 3 years subclass 600 visa that allows them to spend 12 months in 18 months with multiple entries. Can anyone tell me if the visa conditions splits the 3 year visa into two consecutive 18 month periods with multiple entries? Or is it a case they can only be in country for 12 months of any 18 month period during that 3 year period (i.e. the 18 month windows are not consecutive)?

The reason being they:

• Arrived in August 2016
• Left OZ in late April 2017 (approx 9 months in Oz minus a 7 day Bali trip)
• Arrived back in Oz in late November 2017 (approx 6 months out of OZ)

They are not sure if they have to leave in November 2018 or February 2019? They are hoping they have 3 months of the first 18 months to use first, then they go into the second 18 month window (where they could stay another 12 months).

Or is it a case they have now started a new 12/18 month window, regardless of the fact they only spent 9/15 months in Oz since they activated the 3 year visa. In a way wasting 3 months of time they could of been in OZ.

They have been to the local visa centre but no help and no response to their email they sent 60 days ago.

Any help is appreciated

Cheers

C&K

This is a great question.

Unfortunately one I can't answer, but I would love to hear a definitive answer, as it has been brought up on this thread many times. I know others have interpreted the 3 years as split into two separate periods (which would give your parents until 02/19).

The problem of course is getting a three year exclusion if you overstay.

Please keep us informed if you manage to discover the official verdict.

[rookshana]

Hi SusieRoo

Thank you for the reply, appreciate it.

Hopefully  will hear soon (fingers crossed). So stressed.... have been checking emails spam/junk folders every few minutes since last week.

Form 80 and police clearance ready for submission.

Will update as soon as I hear anything from immi.

Cheers

Rookshana

 

[Kathss56]

10 hours ago, rookshana said:

Hi all, I am new to this forum. I have been following this forum since Feb 2015 and would like to thank you all for such wonderful and interesting  information. I have lodged my application  on 24 Feb 2015 and have not yet heard anything from DIBP. Should I be worried  about it? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance for any information.

Definitely do not be worried. There is no logic to the order they contact you. Hopefully any day now for you 

[rookshana]

Hi Kathss56

Thanks, hopefully any day....am trying really hard not to worry. I just hope they haven't forgotten about me.