Grandparents Long Term Visit to Australia

[Aerotony]

My wife and I are back in the UK after a six and a half month trip to Australia on a Visitors Visa.

Main purpose of the trip was to vist our daughter who got married to a great Aussie guy in January of this year.

Our first grandchild is due mid April and we are keen to return to Australia to provide some family support and child care particularly when our daughter returns to work near the end of this year.

 

Provided we can get a 12 month Visitors Visa we intend to rent out our home in the UK, sell the car and fly out to Australia before the end of this year.

We checked out about renting a house in Australia when we were there and anticipate no problems in getting a long term rental in a decent area.

 

We are both in a good state of health and financially can meet the conditions for obtaining the Visa both being retired and in receipt of UK State and Occupational Pensions.

 

Are we right in assuming that we can extend a Visitors Visa for at least another 12 months under the current Visa regulations?

Appears that we may have to leave Australia for a few days to be granted the extension but that should not be a problem.

 

We assume that Medicare would give us sufficient health care under reciprocal arrangements between the UK and Australian governments. We even had free Flu Vaccinations on our last trip!

 

There seems to be little advantage in applying for permanent residence in Australia provided current regulations do not change and assuming we can get rolling renewals of Long Term Visitors Visas, given of course that our health remains good and we take care to be model citizens.

 

We are struggling to work out how the UK Tax Authorities would view such an arrangement and if we are likely to have problems if we are classified as non-UK residents. We are seeking professional advice on that issue and are not intending to take any short cuts.

 

We lived in New Zealand in the late 1960's early 1970's and both our daughters were born their and have dual UK/NZ nationality. We have no illusions about the emotional stress of a long term move overseas particularly since it will certainly initially mean leaving our other daughter in the UK.

 

Comments/advice from anyone who has experience of the above issues would be much appreciated.

Thanks for taking the time to read this posting.

[Guest guest36187]

My wife and I are back in the UK after a six and a half month trip to Australia on a Visitors Visa.

Main purpose of the trip was to vist our daughter who got married to a great Aussie guy in January of this year.

Our first grandchild is due mid April and we are keen to return to Australia to provide some family support and child care particularly when our daughter returns to work near the end of this year.

 

Provided we can get a 12 month Visitors Visa we intend to rent out our home in the UK, sell the car and fly out to Australia before the end of this year.

We checked out about renting a house in Australia when we were there and anticipate no problems in getting a long term rental in a decent area.

 

We are both in a good state of health and financially can meet the conditions for obtaining the Visa both being retired and in receipt of UK State and Occupational Pensions.

 

Are we right in assuming that we can extend a Visitors Visa for at least another 12 months under the current Visa regulations?

Appears that we may have to leave Australia for a few days to be granted the extension but that should not be a problem.

 

We assume that Medicare would give us sufficient health care under reciprocal arrangements between the UK and Australian governments. We even had free Flu Vaccinations on our last trip!

 

There seems to be little advantage in applying for permanent residence in Australia provided current regulations do not change and assuming we can get rolling renewals of Long Term Visitors Visas, given of course that our health remains good and we take care to be model citizens.

 

We are struggling to work out how the UK Tax Authorities would view such an arrangement and if we are likely to have problems if we are classified as non-UK residents. We are seeking professional advice on that issue and are not intending to take any short cuts.

 

We lived in New Zealand in the late 1960's early 1970's and both our daughters were born their and have dual UK/NZ nationality. We have no illusions about the emotional stress of a long term move overseas particularly since it will certainly initially mean leaving our other daughter in the UK.

 

Comments/advice from anyone who has experience of the above issues would be much appreciated.

Thanks for taking the time to read this posting.

 

Visa Options - Tourists - Visitors - Visas & Immigration

 

Here is the visitor visa link from the DIMIA web site

 

Tourist Visa (Subclass 676)

 

676 sounds to me like it would suit you but I am no agent or expert!!!

 

 

Im pretty sure that you cant get `rolling renewals`. The Australian government may not approve this as it would appear that you are using a visitor visa to `live` in Australia rather than visit. This is a quote from the website

<H2>Repeat visits and long stays

 

This visa is designed only to allow temporary travel to Australia for tourism purposes or to visit family and friends. It cannot be used for long-term stays or residence. To be eligible for a further Tourist visa in the future, you must maintain extended periods of time outside of Australia.

</H2>

[Guest Guest31881]

As Oz2512 says the Australian immigrattion can get a bit upset if they feel you are using the 12 month visas as away of living in Australia. You will probably find a 12 month visa has no stay condition (8503), and that means after your 12 months you have to leave and cannot just come straoight back.

 

There was a thread on here where a lady had done exactly this and when she applied for another visa she had problems because they suspected she was living in Australia and not just visiting. It is something you need to look at more deeply. I know some come over for 6 months, go back to UK for 6 months, That way they can perminantly be in the summer months.

[Aerotony]

As Oz2512 says the Australian immigrattion can get a bit upset if they feel you are using the 12 month visas as away of living in Australia. You will probably find a 12 month visa has no stay condition (8503), and that means after your 12 months you have to leave and cannot just come straoight back.

 

There was a thread on here where a lady had done exactly this and when she applied for another visa she had problems because they suspected she was living in Australia and not just visiting. It is something you need to look at more deeply. I know some come over for 6 months, go back to UK for 6 months, That way they can perminantly be in the summer months.

 

Thanks to Oz2512 and Srp for a rapid response to my posting.

I guess an initial application for a twelve month Visitors Visa followed by a rolling programme of six months UK/six months Australia is the way to proceed.

 

Does anyone have experience of this strategy and can advise of any advantages/disadvantages?

Any comments gratefully received. Many thanks for taking the time to read this posting.

[Guest Guest31881]

I think you will find a lot of gandparents use the six month here six month UK stratagery and it seems to work for them. A lot do this whilst waiting for a parents visa to be approved so they can make the move perminant.

[Aerotony]

Seems that renting out our UK home on a six months on/off basis could be problematic.

 

For our recent trip to Australia I had difficulty with Insurance cover on our home whilst we were away. The best cover we could get had no theft/vandalism/water damage cover during our absence. Not sure what we were actually insured against in the end!

 

I guess I need to start another thread to discuss Insurance issues, unless anyone reading this thread has experience of this.

[supa]

What about selling your house and then renting in the UK each time you return? You have ultimate flexibility, and can even choose to live in different areas each time you come back. Having sold the house you wouldn't have the expenses associated with agents, insuring the property and sorting out repairs etc for it. Just a thought.

[Guest Guest31881]

What about selling your house and then renting in the UK each time you return? You have ultimate flexibility, and can even choose to live in different areas each time you come back. Having sold the house you wouldn't have the expenses associated with agents, insuring the property and sorting out repairs etc for it. Just a thought.

 

 

I must admit that sounds like a good plan to me, six months in Australia, then six months holiday in different parts of the UK each year.

[kettleson]

Not sure if I could cope with coming back to a different area, different house every time we returned from Oz! We are also looking into all the visiting options we could have, as our son lives near Perth, and our daughter is hoping to eventually go somewhere in Australia, depending on work opportunities. I hope there will be a new thread re: insurance, as we haven't even looked at the problems with that yet!

[mr luvpants]

When you did your 6 month trips, did you have to leave oz for a few days each time to get the visa renewed?

 

JOHN

[andromeda9]

we as grandparents arrived in Australia on a 686 visa November 2000,visa allowed us to travel from August 2000,we arrived back to the UK August 2002,to extend our visa we had to leave Australia even if it was only for touchdown,we went to New Zealand for a short holiday,on the visa it stated multiple travel, I think this visa can be renewed as often as needed as long as you have good reason why its required like your age and family,like not looking to work,a good way of spending long spells in Australia ,in 2006 we came as permanent residents on a 143 visa

hope this helps

regards Lynda

[Aerotony]

We arrived on a 676 Tourist Visa 2nd July 2009 and the six months expired 2nd January 2010. We renewed our Visas to cover the next 6 months, with no hassle but at some expense, because our daughter was getting married on the 5th January.

No problems renewing but I had to get a medical (more expense) being 70 years old but this no longer applies, the age requirment now being 75 years. Flew out back to the UK on the 17th January.

A trip to New Zealand to get a Visa Renewal at the end of that period no longer applies for eligibility to apply for another extension, and even a South Sea Islands Cruise may not be eligible so take care.

Previous postings on this thread (see page 1) seem to indicate that applications for another renewal after a total of 12 months would not be looked upon favourably by the Australian Immigration people. The standard procedure seems to be 6months Uk/ six months Australia on a 676 Tourist Visa.

Or does anyone have other information?

[andromeda9]

have just looked up the 676 visa,stand to be corrected,how things have changed,looks like 12 months is the max

regards

Lynda

[Aerotony]

Looks like changes are inevitable and very frustrating for people wishing to settle and work permanently in Australia.

Currently a 143 Visa costs $38520, £40k or more for two of us, assuming that we could obtain these Visas before the Grim Reaper carries us off.

 

Will leave you with that happy thought!

[Guest Gollywobbler]

have just looked up the 676 visa,stand to be corrected,how things have changed,looks like 12 months is the max

regards

Lynda

 

Hi Lynda

 

You were not wrong. My mother had a couple of sc 686 tourist visas in the 1990s that allowed 4 years at a time in Oz, I think. The 686 visa was then abandoned some time ago. In 2004 at the latest and it might well have been earlier than that.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[mr luvpants]

A trip to New Zealand to get a Visa Renewal at the end of that period no longer applies for eligibility to apply for another extension, and even a South Sea Islands Cruise may not be eligible so take care.

 

 

Hi

 

Where did you get this info from? Is it on the DIAC web site as I have looked and cant see it? I am confused!:chatterbox: An ETA visa allows for 3 month stays max and lasts a year.

 

Thanks for the info so far.

 

JOHN

[Guest Guest31881]

Hi

 

Where did you get this info from? Is it on the DIAC web site as I have looked and cant see it? I am confused!:chatterbox: An ETA visa allows for 3 month stays max and lasts a year.

 

Thanks for the info so far.

 

JOHN

 

 

Hi,

 

Look at tourist visas on this page

 

Visa Options - Tourists - Visitors - Visas & Immigration

 

You can apply for 3, 6 or 12 months,

 

A 676 visa, you will normally find the 12 month visa could have no further stay condition atached

[Aerotony]

Our Travel Agent in the UK has a dedicated Visa department (tourist visas only).

They advised me that restrictions on tourist visas are constantly changing and the Cruise Ship restriction had been a surprise to them.

They seemed confident that leaving Australia to vist New Zealand specifically to apply for renewal of a tourist visa was no longer acceptable.

I have not seen any of this in print on an official Australian website so I stand to be corrected.

[andromeda9]

Looks like changes are inevitable and very frustrating for people wishing to settle and work permanently in Australia.

Currently a 143 Visa costs $38520, £40k or more for two of us, assuming that we could obtain these Visas before the Grim Reaper carries us off.

 

Will leave you with that happy thought!

 

stuff the Grim Reaper,if you can afford go for it,once in Oz,the cost of a very nice house will be cheaper than all your UK costs that occur with immigration with change in your pocket,the visa application will take around twelve to eighteen months

regards

Lynda

[Guest pablofet1]

I think what is being suggested here is 6mths in Oz hen 6mths in the UK as the dept dont seem to like rolling temporary visa's :wink:

 

[Guest pablofet1]

When you did your 6 month trips, did you have to leave oz for a few days each time to get the visa renewed?

 

JOHN

 

Sorry my previous post was in answer to the above. I obviously missed alot whilst typing........ I think the fact that my hubbie is yelling at the TV next to me hasnt helped- Yes an Arsenal fan:wacko:

 

 

Mel

[Aerotony]

I think what is being suggested here is 6mths in Oz hen 6mths in the UK as the dept dont seem to like rolling temporary visa's :wink:

 

 

With one daughter in the UK and one in Australia, 6 months in the UK/ six months in Oz seems the optimum solution.

[greatidea]

Any news in the parents/grand parents PR/visit visas? The Australian government seems to be unnecessarily strict for migrants' parents and grand parents even though all know they'll not keep living like us.

[Linday]

Any news in the parents/grand parents PR/visit visas? The Australian government seems to be unnecessarily strict for migrants' parents and grand parents even though all know they'll not keep living like us.

 

Parents of Australian Permanent Residents or Citizens can now apply for a long term visitor visa of 3 or 5 years. You do have to leave Oz after 12 months however, and can only spend 12 out of evey 18 months in Australia.

 

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/tourist/whats-new.htm

[greatidea]

Parents of Australian Permanent Residents or Citizens can now apply for a long term visitor visa of 3 or 5 years. You do have to leave Oz after 12 months however, and can only spend 12 out of evey 18 months in Australia.

 

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/tourist/whats-new.htm

 

 

But unfortunately it doesn't work out for parents, since the max is only 12 months and since it is a visit visa, 12 months max stay is obvious. Parents should be given a PR visa cheaper and faster like that in Canada. It should be okay even if they don't receive free medicare or civic facilities, but staying close to their children is what they seek in their old age. Who else cares for old people if their own children aren't able to?