amdaloia

My British partner does the same and I (the Aussie) think he is nuts as well so you guys arent alone

London house prices are ridiculously expensive compared to what you can get in Adelaide so no doubt they looked at London prices. We cannot afford to get on the property market in London no matter how long we save for, yet we know when we return to Adelaide later this year we will at least have some chance if we start saving and do so for a couple of years to get a good size deposit for a house we would only dream about owning in London (or if we moved a lot further out or to other areas of the UK - not possible for my partners work). Obviously outside of London prices for good houses are different, but in London its just ridiculous so I can kind of see where channel 9 were coming from.

Thanks Adelaidenow....I was wondering how much gb would be suitable and thanks also for letting me know about the local wi fi in the CBD etc.....it answers a couple of my questions. Do you find you have a good service with Vodafone? We are going to be living with my mum in Port Noarlunga South for a few months and then hopefully getting a rental or even buying our own place in a similar area. My partner will be working in the CBD and I am a stay at home mum at the moment but eventually plan to work in the CBD as well - so the coverage with free wi fi there is great and hopefully its pretty decent down South as well.

Thanks folks. We used Amaysim when we came over for a couple of holidays and found it was pretty decent so might try them again. We are with Vodafone and Three in the UK but have no great allegiance to them so will happily take other networks when we arrive.

Hi all We are (patiently) waiting our visa approval (7 months and counting) and hope to be in Adelaide by about Sept/Oct this year. I was born and bred in Adelaide but have spent the last 7 years in the UK and only been home twice for a quick holiday with the partner and our kids so a lot has changed in the time I have been away and now I am trying to put together a budget for our return and am kind of stumped when it comes to mobile phones and sim only plans etc. My partner and I both have iPhones which we have bought outright (we arent tied to any contract here in the UK) and we are hoping not to be tied into any contracts when we return to Australia (at least to start with anyways). I am just after some advice on the best companies to go with for sim only as well as an idea of how much data people generally use in any given month. Our phones are wi-fi and 3G compatible and we are planning on staying with my mum for a few months when we arrive (and she has wi-fi) so it will only be using our data allotment when we are out and about. Do people suggest we go with a high data allowance or would a relatively small one (say 1 or 3gb) be plenty? I generally get through about 600mb a month and my partner is probably the same or a bit less but I find London has a pretty decent wi-fi system when we are out and about as a lot of shops will give you free wi-fi if you log in etc. Is Adelaide the same or is it still difficult to get a wi-fi signal when out of your own home? Cheers Amanda

For those who are curious here are a couple of links to show what immunisations kids in the UK get and what immunisations kids in Australia get UK immunisation schedule - http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/vaccinations/Pages/vaccination-schedule-age-checklist.aspx Aust immunisation schedule - http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/enablers/medicare/australian-childhood-immunisation-register/your-childs-immunisation-schedule

Hmmmm thanks for posting this....we are headed to Oz later this year and my two will be almost 3 and almost 2 at the time so I will be doing some investigation as to vaccinations they have had and what that compares to in Oz. Like you I have never even considered it and just assumed it was on the same (or similar) schedule and the same (or similar) vaccinations. Just another thing to worry about/investigate now but thanks again for the heads up.

Yayayayayayayayayay!!!! Even more reason to be coming home later this year They are definitely treat ice creams at that price (although it is on par with what they charge here in London for a tub - almost £5 at some supermarkets) but hey who can knock back a Ben & Jerry's......they have some amazing combinations and I just hope they have a good selection (London has a decent selection but when we were in the States OMG their choice is AMAZING!). For all those B&J fans out there enjoy

How old is your mum? Will she be able to apply for a state sponsored visa given she will be a nurse (or a different visa based on her career)? If she meets the requirements (I am not sure what they are in relation to age and career experience but it cant hurt to look into it) then that is definitely a lot less of a waiting period than 13 years! I vaguely recall there is an option where your mum could get a visa for a 6 month period every year so she could look at doing that for a while (not sure if it would allow her to work or not). Have a look at this link - it gives you the visa options based on certain criteria http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/Find-a-visa.aspx I think you might need to speak to a different migration agent though as partner visas (once granted) give you the right to work from the moment you hit Aussie shores (if you can find employment) and it would be your decision as to whether or not you would want to work given your daughters age and childcare availability/affordability. Temporary partner visas (the first 2 years of your visa) dont allow you to claim unemployment benefits from the government but you can work if you chose to. Perhaps your immigration agent meant you cannot work if you go over on a tourist visa - you should be able to work if you apply for a partner visa onshore and get a bridging visa in the meantime (I think). Although from what other posters have said on other threads onshore applications take about 13 months for approval whereas offshore ones are currently running at about 8-9 months (so it may be quicker to apply offshore as it also gives you the chance to spend more time with your mother before leaving). And dont worry, the vascillating emotions is COMPLETELY normal! I am Aussie and my partner is British and we hope to get approval by Aug this year and move back to Adelaide shortly thereafter. He is very gung ho about moving but also has days where he isnt so sure (family arent much of an issue as he doesnt have a lot to do with them - their choice) and even I have a few days where I think is uprooting his whole life and our 2 kids lives the right thing to do but then I realise that Adelaide is where we both want to raise our kids (1 and 2 years old) and we have more family (mine) there for support than we do here. It is always going to seem like a huge decision and you will always worry about its effect on you and your family and every day will bring new feelings of yes or no but if you can say the decision to move is the best one for your family in general then the ups and downs will sort themselves out eventually and you will be happy with your decision.

I think you have to apply for what they call a residents return visa if you want to leave Australia after that time. As for renewing your visa can you ask your wife's CO as to what/how you go about doing that?

Hahahaha oops.....that will teach me for not checking out the date before replying to a post.....sorry! Thanks for the heads up

Hi Donna My name is Amanda and I am currently based in London but looking to return home to Adelaide by Christmas this year with my partner and two kids. I have worked as a Legal Secretary in the London CBD since arriving in late 2007 but am now a full time stay at home mum. I am looking to return to work part time in 2015 and would love to keep doing legal secretarial work. I have worked in residential property but mainly family law since arriving in London. Prior to moving to London I worked as a mortgage processor in a law firm and a conveyancer (not qualified though) in a small conveyancing firm. At the moment we are waiting on my partner to get his visa approval (which unfortunately given their time frame we wont hear until about Aug/Sept this year) but as soon as it is received we will make the move almost immediately. Do you have any advice about the legal secretarial market in Adelaide or things that I should be doing while I am at home to keep up my skills (I am trying to do touch typing skills tests a few times a week to keep my skills up - around 80 wpm at the moment)? Cheers Amanda

Have you considered looking into a parent contributory visa (I think that is what it is called) for your Dad? It would mean he could move out to live in Oz as well, especially if you are really worried about leaving him on his own. I am not sure of the requirements and such, but have heard of other people who have had it for their folks and it might be something you can look into.

We are going through the partner visa process at the moment. My partner is English, I am Aussie and our two kids (age 2 and 1) have dual citizenship/passports so only my partner is on the application form (forms 47/40sp), which made it easier and cheaper thankfully. We lodged our paperwork on 18 Nov 2013 and the money was taken from our account almost immediately but we didnt hear from our case worker until mid Jan 2014. We have had to provide some additional information as I also have an Italian passport (although why they need info about that I dont know but hey I am not going to argue with our case officer!) and they have asked that my partner not have his health check or police check done until April due to time restraints so we are in holding at the moment They have stressed that it takes a minimum of 8-9 months because of the fact they get so many applications at the Embassy in London and they work in date order of receipt, plus the whole limit to number of migrants Australia will accept in any one period. They said there was no way to speed up the process, not even getting your checks done early, as it will still take 8-9 months no matter what! The also asked we delay getting the police/health check because they are only valid for 12 months and if the process takes 8-9 for approval if you get it too soon then you only have a short period to depart England after approval (or else the horrible thing can happen and they will expire so you have to pay for them to be done again before departure). Unfortunately it really is a long painful waiting game and my only hope is that after we get my partners police/health check done they will approve us earlier than the 8-9 month limit because, like you, I am desperate to get outta here and back to Adelaide (I have been in London 7 years now and just wish for a little sun, the beaches and family!). Good luck with hearing from the Embassy and your eventual move out to Australia!

Hi My partner, 2 kids and I are in London and applying for a partner visa for him (I am Aussie, he is English and kids have dual citizenship/passports) and we did it all ourselves and without an agent. Obviously there are different requirements/supporting evidence for a partner visa than a skilled work one but I am sure the process and the paperwork would be similar. Its not that difficult, its just long and tedious (and can sometimes ask some questions that test your memory - such as countries visited in the last 10 years, places you have lived in the last 10 years etc) and if you think about it you have to provide all the information and supporting documents to the agent and they simply transfer the information you provide to the forms so you might as well save yourself some money and do it all yourself. If you do it yourself be prepared to spend a decent amount of time going through the handbook to make sure you have all that is needed and make sure the forms are carefully and correctly completed. Supporting evidence can be tiresome to get together but it also serves as a nice reminder of your relationship from years past If there is something extra special that an agent does (we never even considered going to one as after I looked at the forms and process it certainly wasnt worth the money that we would have had to pay - especially as the application is quite expensive in itself) then maybe consider it, but it really depends on how much you want to pay, how much time you have to do it yourself and if you are more happy for the Embassy to liaise direct with yourself/your partner or some third party. Good luck with whatever option you chose and remember there is always this forum to help you out if you decide to do it yourself and have questions.