Advice please.

[Guest genie1]

I am a sixty year old female. Both adult children settled in Australia. It's time for me to join them.(Visited 27 times and know it's where I want to be!!) At the moment not sure if my long term partner will be joining me.

I do not have a house to sell or a fantastic pension to live on so will be poor for the forseable future. But Hey,Lifes an adventure!

As I do not relish the thought of giving the Australian goverment what little money I may have for a parent visa I am looking at all the options and think that the best might be to come out on a one year tourist visa and keep renewing ( think this is possible but not sure how many times they will let me).

In four years time I can then apply for an aged parent visa (much cheaper), get a bridging visa and hopefully get permanancy before I peg it !!

Has anyone else done it this way?

Going round in circles and need to make a decision... HELP

[snifter]

Hello and welcome. I've moved this to migration section as better suited there. Have a look at posts by Gollywobbler as she has posted lots of info on this sort of thing.

 

 

Good luck

[Guest Guest5035]

balance of family visa??

 

stevo

[Guest Jo&Phil]

As above, you may be able to apply for the 'remaining family' visa ... http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/family/835/

This would give you some access to benefits as a permanent resident which might be useful in the longer term.

[wrussell]

As above, you may be able to apply for the 'remaining family' visa ... http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/family/835/ This would give you some access to benefits as a permanent resident which might be useful in the longer term.

Not possible.

[Guest genie1]

As above, you may be able to apply for the 'remaining family' visa ... http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/family/835/

This would give you some access to benefits as a permanent resident which might be useful in the longer term.

 

Thanks for the reply. I have looked at that and my understanding is that this visa (835) can only be applied for if you have a brother,sister or parent who is an Australian citizen. I don't, so think I wouldn't be able to apply.

[Guest genie1]

balance of family visa??

 

stevo

Thanks. Will check this out.

[Guest Jo&Phil]

None of us are experts ... might be worth getting some expert advice via Immigration (Australia House) or a Migration Agent.

[Gollywobbler]

I am a sixty year old female. Both adult children settled in Australia. It's time for me to join them.(Visited 27 times and know it's where I want to be!!) At the moment not sure if my long term partner will be joining me.

I do not have a house to sell or a fantastic pension to live on so will be poor for the forseable future. But Hey,Lifes an adventure!

As I do not relish the thought of giving the Australian goverment what little money I may have for a parent visa I am looking at all the options and think that the best might be to come out on a one year tourist visa and keep renewing ( think this is possible but not sure how many times they will let me).

In four years time I can then apply for an aged parent visa (much cheaper), get a bridging visa and hopefully get permanancy before I peg it !!

Has anyone else done it this way?

Going round in circles and need to make a decision... HELP

 

Hello Genie1

 

Have you considered making an immediate application for an offshore Parent subclass 103 visa?

http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/family/103/

 

At the moment, the Govt is allowing a total of 1,400 PV103s each year so the waiting time for one is about 9 or 10 years. You would pay the 1st Instalment at the time of making the application (currently $1,995 until 1st July 2012 when it will probably be increased.) An immediate application made soon would fix the amount of the 2nd Instalment at $1,735, payable just before the visa is granted.

 

If the quotas remain as they are, this might be quicker - in the end - than the strategy you have described. It would also provide certainty. Even the Aussie Government does not know what its Immigration policies will be 4 or 5 years from now, so nobody would advise you that it would be safe to wait until you turn 65 and just seeing how the land lies then.

 

I think the other advantage of an immediate application for a PV 103 is that there is a specifc Policy that someone who has applied for a PV 103 should be granted a 12 month stay in Australia whenever s/he applies for a subclass 676 Tourist Visa. Since DIAC specifically permit this under Policy, it is easier than just hoping that they will not get stroppy about repeated applications for Tourist Visas and it also removes worries about Condition 8503. If you have already applied for a PV 103, it doesn't matter if DIAC impose Condition 8503 on the Tourist Visas.

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/52bWaiving_Condition8503.htm

 

The information above assumes that you would be applying for a PV 103 as the sole applicant. You seem to be saying that you only have two children, both of whom live in Oz. Therefore there is no problem with the Balance of Family Test for you on your own.

 

Now your Partner! How old is he at the moment, please? Also, does he have any children of his own? This is important because if you and he make a joint application for Parent migration, any children of his would be added to your own children for the purpose of the BoF Test. So if he has 3 children, none of whom live in Australia, then as a couple you and he would not be eligible for Parent migration because you would fall foul of the BoF Test.

 

Parents are specifically excluded from eligibility for the Remaining Relative Visa. Parent migration is specifically aimed at Parents so DIAC want to avoid any confusion.

 

The other vague query I have at the moment is whether repeated Tourist visas would really be the best option for you. What about a Student Visa instead? There is no upper age limit on eligibility for a Student visa, no bar to applying for a PV 103 and then applying for a Student visa afterwards, plus if you enrolled in a course that would last for 2 or 3 years, you would be permitted to remain in Australia for about 2.5 or 3.5 years at a stretch. You would also be permitted to do 20 hours PW of paid work during the college terms and you would be allowed to work for an unlimited number of hours PW during the college vacations. (You might also meet an Aussie and fall in love with him, perhaps?)

 

Since the Student visa course would not be a route to skilled Immigration for you, it wouldn't really matter what you might choose to study. I'd suggest that whatever you chose should be studied at a TAFE because the TAFEs are run by the State Governments. I have heard of a case where a TAFE boss was so horrified to learn that Paents either have to pay a fortune or wait forever that this lady TAFE boss took pity on the Parent/Student and agreed to charge only the level of TAFE fees that a domestic Student wuld pay. Of course, there is no guarantee that another TAFE would be similarly generous but I do know of a case where a TAFE over in NSW was very generous.

 

Does this help? If not, please feel free to scream at me!

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[Guest genie1]

Hi Gill, firstly thank you so much for your responce. Lots of information which has been much appreciated.

One week on and after much soul searching and debate we have decided that both myself and my partner will be arriving together. He is 46yrs old and wants to study in Oz. He is an archaeologistat present but horticulture is his pashion and he has identified a Tafe (2yr) diploma at Urrbrae.

Not sure whether we need to engage an agent or go it alone as I am aware that the process might be complicated.

 

The plan now: To apply for the offshore parent visa 103 now.Come over in September this year on a visitor visa. Apply for course and student visa when we arrive. For him to study for two years and for both of us to work 20hrs each.

Its at this point that I get a bit stuck as to what we do then. We need to be very sure that all of above are possible and that we are being realistic.

Any advise would be very welcome as we need to get the ball rolling !

[Gollywobbler]

Hi Gill, firstly thank you so much for your responce. Lots of information which has been much appreciated.

One week on and after much soul searching and debate we have decided that both myself and my partner will be arriving together. He is 46yrs old and wants to study in Oz. He is an archaeologistat present but horticulture is his pashion and he has identified a Tafe (2yr) diploma at Urrbrae.

Not sure whether we need to engage an agent or go it alone as I am aware that the process might be complicated.

 

The plan now: To apply for the offshore parent visa 103 now.Come over in September this year on a visitor visa. Apply for course and student visa when we arrive. For him to study for two years and for both of us to work 20hrs each.

Its at this point that I get a bit stuck as to what we do then. We need to be very sure that all of above are possible and that we are being realistic.

Any advise would be very welcome as we need to get the ball rolling !

 

 

Hi Genie1

 

1. Why do you want to wait till you reach Oz before applying for a Student visa, please? Wouldn't it be easier and cleaner to get the Student visa whilst you are still in the UK?

 

2. Which visa do you intend to use in order to be able to enter Australia in the first place? Visitor visas are not supposed to be springboards to anything else.

 

3. Does your 46 year old Partner have any children of his own, please? If not, or if his children do not upset the Balance of Family Test, I would suggest the following strategy:

 

A. Apply for the PV 103 for both of you, with you as the main applicant for that, without delay. It would take the PVC (Parents Visa Centre) about 6 weeks to acknowledge recipt of the PV application and to confirm that they have added it to their system.

 

B. Once you get the acknowledgement from the PVC, then apply for a Student visa for your Partner, with you as his dependant. The academic year begins at the end of Jan/beginning of Feb in Australia, so there would be plenty of time to do things this way around. He would want to enrol for a course that begins in late Jan/early Feb 2013.

 

You would not need specific Permission to Work. That is now granted automatically with Student visas.

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/students/

 

Whether or not you really need a migration agent to help with any of this depends on you more than it depends on anything else. If you are prepared to do some head-banging until you understand all the relevant words on the DIAC website, plus you are prepared to be really thorough and conscientious about getting all the paperwork right, there is no reason why you shouldn't deal with both visa applications by yourselves. It is not rocket science, DIAC provide an extremely helpful Checklist with every type of visa, which you can download from their website, and DIAC really do simplify the process and make it easy for any applicant in person who is not an unreliable scatterbrain.

 

A Registered Migration Agent in the UK would charge you about £600-£800 (possibly plus VAT) for dealing with an application for a Student visa. They'd probably want somewhere in the region of £1,000 (+/- VAT) for a PV 103 application. I'm dubious about the value of that, myself, when there are no complications and all that it needs is for you yourself to keep a cool head and to do it methodically, one visa at a time.

 

Don't try to prepare both applications at the same time - it would be much easier to cut your teeth on an application for a PV 103 - which are as ridiculously simple as it is possible for them to be, bearing in mind that the Forms were designed by bureaucrats with little common-sense but plenty of zeal! Once you've despatched the PV 103 application, then you can clear your desk and make a start on the nuts and bolts for the Student visa application next. Just by wading through the extremely tedious but actually very straightforward procedures for the PV 103, you will learn how DIAC's mind works, if you like.

 

FWIW, my own mother has a Contributory Parent Visa sc 143. In 2005, I discovered that she would be eligible for a CPV. I then discussed it all with my sister Elaine, who has lived in Perth since Noah was a nipper. I happen to be a solicitor in England & Wales but I had never dealt with any Immigration Law matters, didn't study Immi Law as an optional extra or anything and to start with, I was totally baffled by the DIAC website as it was at the time in 2005 (2 websites before the current one.)

 

I couldn't understand a word of it, to begin with. I had never come across Immigration Jargon before, didn't really understand what a visa actually is, legally, didn't understand the concepts involved in Immigration and so forth. Having discovered that Mum would be eligible, I told Elaine that I supposed the next step would be to find and instruct a migration agent? Elaine said, "Waste of money. If you're sure that Mum is eligible then we can do the application by ourselves." She turned out to have been 100% right.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

 

PS: Precisely because I'm a lawyer and I was scared sh*tless that I might make a mistake, I beat my own brains into a much finer pulp than was either actually necessary or most people would do! My own imagination was making the whole thing seem much hairier than it actually was/is!

 

PPS: There was a potential BoF Test complication for my Mum. She has a step-child as well as two children of her own and only one of the 3 lives in Australia. The old DIAC website contradicted itself. One of the Fact Sheets said that the step-child wouldn't be counted in the BoF Test. The other Fact Sheet said that she would be. There was nothing to indicate which of these two Sheets was correct.

 

So then I downloaded the legislation itself, to have a squint at what the relevant Law actually said. I became convinced that the Australian Government uses kangaroos as Parliamentary Draftsmen. Canberra is full of roos, apparently. I reckon that at least 50% of them are on the Federal Government's payroll and that they are not being paid just to mow the grass with their teeth!

[Guest genie1]

Been away for a while and doing a lot of thinking! Thanks again Gill for all of above.

We are now going to apply for the PV 103 straight away. Have been waiting for birth certs etc to be reissued but now have everything to hand.

You asked previously if my partner has any children and he hasn't.

Later this year he will apply for the course that he wants(can only do this three months before the course starts in Jan 2013) and then apply for a student visa with me as his dependant. This is the point that I get a bit confused !

One thing I am concerned about is, we want to go to Oz in Sept/Oct and not sure which visa we would travel out on. Bearing in mind we might not have the student visa at this point so can we apply for the student visa once we have arrived ?

Also, having problems thinking about what will happen when he finishes his course of study.Would we be able to get a bridging visa whilst waiting for the PV103 to come through (Years. I know) and would we both be able to work with a bridging visa? Any advise would be very welcome. Thankyou

[Gollywobbler]

Been away for a while and doing a lot of thinking! Thanks again Gill for all of above.

We are now going to apply for the PV 103 straight away. Have been waiting for birth certs etc to be reissued but now have everything to hand.

You asked previously if my partner has any children and he hasn't.

Later this year he will apply for the course that he wants(can only do this three months before the course starts in Jan 2013) and then apply for a student visa with me as his dependant. This is the point that I get a bit confused !

One thing I am concerned about is, we want to go to Oz in Sept/Oct and not sure which visa we would travel out on. Bearing in mind we might not have the student visa at this point so can we apply for the student visa once we have arrived ?

Also, having problems thinking about what will happen when he finishes his course of study.Would we be able to get a bridging visa whilst waiting for the PV103 to come through (Years. I know) and would we both be able to work with a bridging visa? Any advise would be very welcome. Thankyou

 

 

Hi Genie1

 

Let us do this in a logical order!

 

The Parent 103 application:

 

Get the application ready and lodge it as soon as you can because you might as well get that bit out of the way.

 

I take it that you and your Partner have been together for long enough for DIAC to regard you two as being a "genuine couple" - ie as if you were H&W?

 

The Student Visa:

 

DIAC will not issue the visa until 12 weeks before the start of the course. Therefore you will not be able to use the Student visa until 12 weeks before the start of the course. However you will apply for the visa at least 4 weeks before you want it to be granted and preferably a couple of months before you want it to be granted.

 

There are lots of steps that have to be done first - eg your Partner must enrol on a Horticulture course approved for International Students by CRICOS:

 

http://cricos.deewr.gov.au/Course/CourseSearch.aspx

 

There are 4 CRICOS-approved courses that last for the statutory 104 weeks according to the CRICOS Register. All 4 are Diploma courses, which is fine. 2 of them seem to be at the Urrbrae Campus:

 

http://www.tafesa.edu.au/international/international-courses/agriculture-biology

 

Becoming an International Student in Oz used to be a pretty-well guaranteed route to permanent migration to Oz thereafter but this is not so any more.

 

With the visa bit: You will be permitted to use the Student visa to enter Australia 12 weeks before the start date of the course. The course will begin during the last week in January 2013. 12 weeks before that would be (roughly) the last week in October 2012. Make your travel plans so that they fit round the Student visa, I suggest.

 

The Horticulture course will end, technically, 104 weeks after it begins. The Student Visa will remain valid for a further 8 weeks after the course ends.

 

Nowadays there is a huge amount of hassle involving immigration skills-assessments following the end of an International Student course but let us stick with visas alone for the time being, please.

 

Once the Student visa expires, your OH will be able to make an onshore application for a subclass 485 visa:

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/485/

 

The sc 485 will allow him to remain in Oz for a further 18 months, allowed to work full-time, in order that he can build up his experience as a Horticulturalist etc. You would also be allowed to work full-time on a sc 485 if you wish.

 

One option is that whilst he is on the sc 485, an employer might offer to sponsor him for a sc 457 visa:

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/skilled-workers/sbs/

 

Subject to further nit picking rules and regulations, a sc 457 can lead to employer-sponsorship for a Permanent Residency visa in due course, probably an RSMS visa since we are discussing SA:

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/skilled-workers/visa-permanent.htm

 

It is all incredibly fiddly and I don't know all the details myself. However there is not much point in worrying unduly about future details until the Student course is out of the way since we are looking at almost 3 years until that first bit is completed. At this stage, not even DIAC can be certain what all their rules and regs will be in 3 years' time. That will depend on Ministers and Australia must hold a General Election during 2013.

 

You certainly don't need a migration agent in order to prepare and lodge an application for a Parent 103 visa unless there is doubt about whether you and OH are "a couple" as far as DIAC are concerned.

 

With the Student visa, I know people who have used migration agents and I know people who have dealt with it by themselves. That is up to the individual, in my view. However if you would prefer the reassurance of having a migration agent involved then I would recommend Dave Brooking:

 

https://www.mara.gov.au/agent/ARDetails.aspx?ud=5751&BackToSearch=True&FolderID=394

 

Dave is a pilot by background. He was in the RAF for many years, including being seconded to the RAAF for a couple of years. I have no idea what sort of planes he flew but I believe that he still has a Private Pilots Licence and that he is also still a qualified Flying Instructor. He was also a JP in the UK so he's used to getting his head round obscure points of Law.

 

Dave would enjoy helping you and he is an immensely nice man. Paracombe seems to be about 30 kms driving distance from Urrbrae according to Google Maps. I've never been to SA (my own family are in Perth) so you can probably work it out better than me.

 

You would NOT be able to get a Bridging Visa on the basis of your application for a Parent 103 visa. In due course, it *might* become possible to apply for an Aged Parent visa instead (which would permit a Bridging Visa) but for the moment, I think it is irrelevant to worry about that.

 

The strategy that I suggest makes more sense for your Partner and for your joint finances, I reckon. Bridging Visas do not come with work rights thrown in, hon. If you applied for an APV you would then have to prove "financial hardship" in order to be able to get Permission to Work on a long-term Bridging Visa but that whole question is so far down the line that I think you would do better to focus instead on that which is do-able for the time being.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[Guest genie1]

Hi Gill,

 

Thank you again for all your time and work, but I still have a couple of questions if you can bear it:

 

Firstly, is there a conflict between entering on a Student Visa and having lodged a PV 103 application. I think I have read that a student visa is not a vehicle to permanent residency? Does one negate the other?

 

Secondly, applications for courses don't open until 12 weeks before the course starts, so there appears to be a timing issue if you need to be registered on the course in order to be granted a visa.

 

Thanks in anticipation

 

Genie

[Gollywobbler]

Hi Gill,

 

Thank you again for all your time and work, but I still have a couple of questions if you can bear it:

 

Firstly, is there a conflict between entering on a Student Visa and having lodged a PV 103 application. I think I have read that a student visa is not a vehicle to permanent residency? Does one negate the other?

 

Secondly, applications for courses don't open until 12 weeks before the course starts, so there appears to be a timing issue if you need to be registered on the course in order to be granted a visa.

 

Thanks in anticipation

 

Genie

 

Hi Genie1

 

There is no problem with lodging an application for a PV 103 visa and then applying for and obtaining a Student visa later.

 

With regard to complications with booking the course etc, I would suggest that you consult Dave Brooking, as described in my earlier post.

 

I know very little about Student visas but it sounds to me as if you are trying to understand too many different things at once, here. There is no way that DIAC would create the sort of muddle that you describe, so I think maybe you should just use a Registered Migration Agent and be done with it.

 

Dave Brooking would be the best RMA for you because he does not over-charge, he is extremely cautious and double checks everything, plus he would go the extra mile by phoning Elaine Benstead at the TAFE for you, etc.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[Guest genie1]

Thanks for that Gill.

We now feel ready to start the process ! Will also seriously consider your recomendation of Dave Brooking.

Hope we don't need to bother you again and really appreciate all your valuable advice.

Will let you know how we get on a bit further along the line.

Cheers (wish we could buy you a pint!!)

Genie and Beaz