Granted 804 Parent Bridging Visa

[Thorpe1]

Ok guys here goes

 

Today I went into the local office and spoke to a very helpful lady. I took with my my mum (useful I know lol) her passport which only has her original 676 visa, her medicare card (which espires on the 12/12 coz they would only give her 3 months at a time on the 676 visa) and the letter from immigration showing informing her she has been alocated a bridging visa A.

 

I explained to the woman what the situation was and she told me the following

 

1. The Health Care Card - This entitles you to a discount on prescriptions and some other health care services. this card is means tested. You need to have an income of less that $50,000 a year. This is not just for seniors.

 

Australian residence requirements:

 

- An Australian Citizen, or

- the holder of a permenant visa, or

- a New Zealand citezen who arrived on a New Zealand passport, or

- the holder of certain temporary visas.

 

2. The Commonwealth Seniors Health Card - This entitles you to a discount on prescription, travel, rego and all sorts of other utilities/ammenaties

 

The lady in the office asked me what subclass visa mum was on and she checked both the 804 and the 676 tourist visa.

 

Apparantly you cannot claim using a 676 tourist visa as the computer asks you for the visa number and will reject it when you put the 676 visa number in.

 

In relation to the 804 visa. I dont know about you Gill/Sharon but my mum does not have a visa number as such just a client ID number and a file reference.

 

Apparantly you have to have held the bridging visa for 2 years and then you will be eligible for a CSHC. This may be why you, Gill, were able to get one when you applied after 7 years, as you will already have passed the 2 year waiting time. Sharon I have no idea about your claim as you said that your mum was given her card whilst on a tourist visa.

 

Sharon I fully appreciate that it is their error but please bear in mind that your mum is on the list for a much sought after visa. If she is not entitled to it and 'their error' is discovered it may affect the eventual outcome. Its just a thought but I would be trying to stay whiter than white during this period.

 

I must admit I was alittle surprised to hear that even after 2 years you could be entitled to this visa as I thought that you were exempt from all centrlink claims whilst on the bridging visa.

 

If anyone hears anything different I would love to hear but for now my mum is going to wait it out. Whilst it would really assist her to have a concession on her medication she is very scared about having to pay back any monies she may have claimed accidently

[Thorpe1]

Sorry Dianne but my above post was meant for you too. I was refering to you not Jill when I was talking about the 2 year option lol

 

 

Having another blonde moment lol

[Thorpe1]

Sharon,

 

Does you mum have a TFN ???

 

Q 24 says Are you living in Australia permenantly???? How can anyone (not just your mum) say they live in Australia permenantly when they are on a tourist visa???

 

The question defines permenantly as :

 

 

Permanently

' means you normally live in Australia on

 

a long-term basis. Holidays or short trips outside Australia would not affect this

[Thorpe1]

ooops hit enter too soon lol

 

Did your mum come on a 676 visa first??

 

Q 34 and 35 ask wheather you arrived on a perm or temp visa and then which subclass of visa you have.

 

The lady at the office today said the computer would reject a subclass 676 visa number. maybe this is not the case !!!!!

[Guest ben&sharon]

I'll look into it - who knows? As I said, she provided both her passport number and her tourist visa number when she completed the form. I agree that we don't want to be getting into any trouble.

[Thorpe1]

Hi Sharon,

 

Its so frustrating isn't it. I dont want to have anything I'm not entitled to for my mum but I also don't want to miss out on anything coz the person in centrelink didn't know what she was on about.

 

I'm half tempted to fill out the form and see what happens. Thats why I asked what visa number you put in ??? There is no visa number on the form for the bridging visa

 

Karen x

[Thorpe1]

Sharon I have pm'd you

[Guest Nannadi]

Sorry Dianne but my above post was meant for you too. I was refering to you not Jill when I was talking about the 2 year option lol

 

 

Having another blonde moment lol

 

Hi again Karen,

 

Sorry but it was the senior's card that I got after seven years - silly me I should have applied for it as soon as I arrived. The Commonwealth health care card is the one I have been told I am not entitled to until I am a permanent resident. From your experience it would seem that is probably correct:sad:

 

Have you or Karen or Gill read my post back on page 2, going into more detail of my experience re visa - contributary or non contributary - only I've not had any feedback and Gill, you had a couple of questions which I think I've answered.

 

I've also registered with poms in oz and repeated more or less my last two long posts re being here for the past ten years yet despite many, many posts about visas - most of them cpv's, I've had no comments at all which surprises me. Maybe there is something I don't know about the aged parent's visa but it does seem to have worked for me.

 

talk to you all again soon I expect, I'm off to bed now:daydreaming:

 

Dianne

[Hayshake]

I have found all of these posts very interesting. Although we have permanent residence via the parent contributory Visa, we have returned to the UK in order to decide our future. On the subject of Seniors cards, Beria, who represent many non permanent Visa holders have been trying to get the WA government to issue Seniors cards to their members. This is continually turned down by WA as being too expensive. We lived in SA and found it very easy to get a normal Seniors card, which entitled us to travel free on Buses and Trains, and get discounts in a number of shops.

As permanent residents, we have had to provide a bond of A$14000 dollars for 10 years to ensure that we do not claim any benefits from Centrelink, and we have not qualified for any reduction on prescription costs, even though my wife has to have permanent medication. We have however, not been charged the Gap when visiting Doctors or Consultants, although I think this was down to the Doctors being aware of how much we had paid to enter Aus.

We have many friends who are ex-pats living in Adelaide, and waiting for their residency. They inform me that they have to maintain Health cover policies, as they are not covered by Medicare, even though many are now in their 70's, and it is very expensive.

One thing that is certain, if you are relying on an English Pension when you arrive in Aus, you must remember that it is frozen when you leave the UK. (i.e. No increases are made to it) also that with the exchange rate at present, Australia is not cheap anymore!!.

We had a great life in Australia, and lived there for 3 years, and if the exchange rate improves may well move back out, but guess we will have to rely on shorter visits to see our son and grandchildren in the meantime.

[Thorpe1]

Hi Dianne,

 

The way it was explained to me yesterday was that once you have been on the 804 bridging visa for 2 years you can apply for and are entitled to the CSHC. Having said that I was also under the same inpression as the previous poster in that you are not entitled to any benefits from Centrelink until after your visa is granted, and then there is a waiting period.

 

The form quite clearly asks for a visa number and the letter supplied informing you of the allocation of the bridging visa does not give a visa number !!!

 

It might be worth you re checking in relation to the CSHC as the lady was reading the entitlement rules from her screen. It may be as you have passed the 2 year period on a bridging visa that you are entitled to claim.

 

If this is the case I would make sure whoever submits your claim provides you with a copy of the entitlement rules, for your own protection as things do seem to vary from state to state and even person to person.

 

Cheers

 

Karen

[Guest Nannadi]

I have found all of these posts very interesting. Although we have permanent residence via the parent contributory Visa, we have returned to the UK in order to decide our future. On the subject of Seniors cards, Beria, who represent many non permanent Visa holders have been trying to get the WA government to issue Seniors cards to their members. This is continually turned down by WA as being too expensive. We lived in SA and found it very easy to get a normal Seniors card, which entitled us to travel free on Buses and Trains, and get discounts in a number of shops.

As permanent residents, we have had to provide a bond of A$14000 dollars for 10 years to ensure that we do not claim any benefits from Centrelink, and we have not qualified for any reduction on prescription costs, even though my wife has to have permanent medication. We have however, not been charged the Gap when visiting Doctors or Consultants, although I think this was down to the Doctors being aware of how much we had paid to enter Aus.

We have many friends who are ex-pats living in Adelaide, and waiting for their residency. They inform me that they have to maintain Health cover policies, as they are not covered by Medicare, even though many are now in their 70's, and it is very expensive.

One thing that is certain, if you are relying on an English Pension when you arrive in Aus, you must remember that it is frozen when you leave the UK. (i.e. No increases are made to it) also that with the exchange rate at present, Australia is not cheap anymore!!.

We had a great life in Australia, and lived there for 3 years, and if the exchange rate improves may well move back out, but guess we will have to rely on shorter visits to see our son and grandchildren in the meantime.

 

Hello Hayshake

 

As I said, I applied for and was granted a medicare card virtually on arrival in Australia back in 2000. I'm not sure why your friends in Adelaide would find it essential to take out private health cover I've looked into this and it is quite expensive and I have found that with my medicare card, all my medical needs are taken care of through the reciprical aggrement with the UK, except for prescription costs that is.

Admittedly, as I have a chronic condition, I have to pay around $200 permonth for medication but I still reckon this is cheaper than paying for private health insurance plus the huge payment required for contributary parent visas

 

Yes I know that the UK pension is frozen when one lives in Australia and mine has been frozen for the past ten years but that pension does not seem to go up by a great deal and I do have a very small ammount of savings enough to make up any loss in pension for several years. The exchange rate at the moment is horrendous as you know and not worth thinking about.

 

By the way I lived in the Cotswolds before I came here - in between Moreton-in Marsh and Chipping Norton

 

Dianne

[Gollywobbler]

Hi again Karen,

 

Sorry but it was the senior's card that I got after seven years - silly me I should have applied for it as soon as I arrived. The Commonwealth health care card is the one I have been told I am not entitled to until I am a permanent resident. From your experience it would seem that is probably correct:sad:

 

Have you or Karen or Gill read my post back on page 2, going into more detail of my experience re visa - contributary or non contributary - only I've not had any feedback and Gill, you had a couple of questions which I think I've answered.

 

I've also registered with poms in oz and repeated more or less my last two long posts re being here for the past ten years yet despite many, many posts about visas - most of them cpv's, I've had no comments at all which surprises me. Maybe there is something I don't know about the aged parent's visa but it does seem to have worked for me.

 

talk to you all again soon I expect, I'm off to bed now:daydreaming:

 

Dianne

 

Hi Dianne

 

Yep, I did read your post and many thanks for answering my questions.

 

Loads of people don't know about Aged Parent visas. However I am reluctant to set too many hares running about it, hence I never mention it on Poms in Oz because I know a very senior DIAC official who reads Poms in Oz regularly. Loads of other DIAC staff members read PiO regularly as well, to my certain knowledge.

 

Last time there was a fuss about Parents on PiO, it led to the "parents two-step" being blocked just a few months later, hence my reluctance to say too much on there.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[Guest Nannadi]

Hi Dianne

 

Yep, I did read your post and many thanks for answering my questions.

 

Loads of people don't know about Aged Parent visas. However I am reluctant to set too many hares running about it, hence I never mention it on Poms in Oz because I know a very senior DIAC official who reads Poms in Oz regularly. Loads of other DIAC staff members read PiO regularly as well, to my certain knowledge.

 

Last time there was a fuss about Parents on PiO, it led to the "parents two-step" being blocked just a few months later, hence my reluctance to say too much on there.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

 

Thanks for that Gill, I'll be a bit more careful what I say in the future.

[Gollywobbler]

I have found all of these posts very interesting. Although we have permanent residence via the parent contributory Visa, we have returned to the UK in order to decide our future. On the subject of Seniors cards, Beria, who represent many non permanent Visa holders have been trying to get the WA government to issue Seniors cards to their members. This is continually turned down by WA as being too expensive. We lived in SA and found it very easy to get a normal Seniors card, which entitled us to travel free on Buses and Trains, and get discounts in a number of shops.

As permanent residents, we have had to provide a bond of A$14000 dollars for 10 years to ensure that we do not claim any benefits from Centrelink, and we have not qualified for any reduction on prescription costs, even though my wife has to have permanent medication. We have however, not been charged the Gap when visiting Doctors or Consultants, although I think this was down to the Doctors being aware of how much we had paid to enter Aus.

We have many friends who are ex-pats living in Adelaide, and waiting for their residency. They inform me that they have to maintain Health cover policies, as they are not covered by Medicare, even though many are now in their 70's, and it is very expensive.

One thing that is certain, if you are relying on an English Pension when you arrive in Aus, you must remember that it is frozen when you leave the UK. (i.e. No increases are made to it) also that with the exchange rate at present, Australia is not cheap anymore!!.

We had a great life in Australia, and lived there for 3 years, and if the exchange rate improves may well move back out, but guess we will have to rely on shorter visits to see our son and grandchildren in the meantime.

 

 

Hi Hayshake

 

Long time no hear! You were the person who told me about Seniors Cards. I'd never heard of them before you told me about them, so I chivvied my sister in Perth who beetled off and got one for Mum.

 

Why weren't you entitled to Commonwealth Seniors Health Cards as well after 2 years, please?

 

I believe that you had PR and had moved to Oz prior to 1st July 2007? If so then you would have been entitled to Australian Citizenship in 2009. Did you claim that?

 

My mother has had her CPV 143 and has lived in Oz, with PR, since October 2006. So she could have claimed Citizenship any time from October 2008 onwards. However she was 90 a few weeks ago and for the time being, she has decided not to bother. It wouldn't actually have any practical value for her and if I were the ALP, I'd pay my mother not to vote in any Elections because she definitely wouldn't vote for anyone in the ALP!

 

We have however, not been charged the Gap when visiting Doctors or Consultants, although I think this was down to the Doctors being aware of how much we had paid to enter Aus.

A lot of GPs in Oz do bulk billing for children and the elderly. Mum has never paid to see a doctor in Oz although her CSH Card has reduced the price of her drugs by a lot, which definitely helps

 

Fingers crossed that you will move back to Oz sooner rather than later.

 

Big hugs to you and Mrs Hayshake

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[Guest Nannadi]

Thanks for that Gill, I'll be a bit more careful what I say in the future.

 

Sorry to go on, I am like a dog with a bone!

[Guest Nannadi]

Sorry to go on, I am like a dog with a bone!

oops, pressed the wrong button.

 

I have just visited the gov.reciprical health care page where it says. Quote

 

visitors to Australia (and it says 'visitor on my medical card) are covered for the duration of their stay IF

 

1 Free treatment as an in patient at a public hospital- have had

 

2. Subsidised medicine under the PBS scheme - this I have not received

 

3. Medicare benefits for out of hospital medical treatment provided by doctors - yes have received

 

I will 'phone medicare on Monday to try to clarify this - I find it difficult to visit an office as I am not allowed to drive because of the epilepsy.

 

Meantime maybe Sharon, Karen or yourself would like to look at this page to see what you make of it. I just googled reciprical health cover.

 

cheers

Dianne:skeptical:

[Gollywobbler]

Hi Dianne

 

Define what you mean by "subsidised," please? If the market price of the drug is $100 a pop, you have only been charged about $32 a pop. That is "subsidised," isn't it?

 

This whole thing actually depends on how the Social Security Act 1991 defines the term "Permanent Resident." A friend of mine who is an Aussie sollicitor is very kindly looking in to it all for us.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[Guest Nannadi]

Hi Dianne

 

Define what you mean by "subsidised," please? If the market price of the drug is $100 a pop, you have only been charged about $32 a pop. That is "subsidised," isn't it?

 

This whole thing actually depends on how the Social Security Act 1991 defines the term "Permanent Resident." A friend of mine who is an Aussie sollicitor is very kindly looking in to it all for us.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

 

Yes you are quite right Gill, we are all 'subsidised' but I suppose I am thinking about senior's subsidy, bringing cost of each prescription down to $5 something.

 

My family wonder what counts as resident as opposed to visitor maybe permanent resident differs from resident? As I said though, my Medicare card states 'visitor'.

 

As I have said before, I find it really amazing, the time you spend trying to answer all our queries. I, and am sure many others are really, really grateful and think you are wonderful.

 

Cheers,

 

Dianne

[Gollywobbler]

Yes you are quite right Gill, we are all 'subsidised' but I suppose I am thinking about senior's subsidy, bringing cost of each prescription down to $5 something.

 

My family wonder what counts as resident as opposed to visitor maybe permanent resident differs from resident? As I said though, my Medicare card states 'visitor'.

 

As I have said before, I find it really amazing, the time you spend trying to answer all our queries. I, and am sure many others are really, really grateful and think you are wonderful.

 

Cheers,

 

Dianne

 

Hi Dianne

 

Like you, I am wondering how the Social Security Act 1991 defines "Permanent Resident" or "permanently resident." In Immigration Law, those terms have quite different meanings but the Social Security Act 1991 is a purely domestic statute. The chances are very high that the people who drafted it wouldn't have had a clue what the Migration Act 1958 says, so the whole thing could well be a very "grey area" where the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card is concerned.

 

A friend of mine is an Aussie lawyer. She knows about company/commercial law. A friend of hers is an Aussie Tax lawyer. I'm an English Land lawyer. None of us have any real idea how to interpret the Aussie Social Security Act 1991, but none of us are charging anything for having a bash at working it out, either. With 3 of us working on it, we ought to be able to come up with a reasonably reliable conclusion but doing the research will take a lot of time, all of it in our spare time, so it will take several weeks to sort anything out, I reckon. Once the three of us agree about what we think it means, we'll try to find an Aussie Benefits lawyer, so as to get some proper answers from him/her, hopefully.

 

Academically, I find questions like this one intriguing. Because I'm intrigued, I want to know the answer. I'm selfish rather than altruistic, I assure you!

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[Hayshake]

Hi all, I'm back again. Regarding the points made by Gollywobbler, although we moved to Aus in 2007, we were only on a temporary Contributory visa, which lasted for 2 years. We then had to apply for a permanent visa in 2009 and pay the balance of the fee. At the time this seemed the best option so as to give us flexibility, as our son's marriage was breaking up at just the time we had our visa granted.

In Hindsight, we would probably have been better to have gone for the full visa immediately, as it would have saved a lot of hassle at the 2 year period.

Due to this fact, I never got an aussie Tax File number, as I felt it was better getting taxed in the UK, rather than Aus. This then precluded us from getting citizenship as we did not qualify for the 2 year period.

It would appear that if & when we come back to Aus that we could apply for a seniors health card, as we would then be then resident.

Many thanks for your good wishes.

[Thorpe1]

Does anyone know if you can work on this bridging visa A. I know the aged parent 804 visa only applies to people who are retired but what if you wanted to get a little job to meet people etc. Are you allowed to work??? Is there a restriciton on hours ??

 

Cheers

[tracy holland 1]

I have just read your post about parent visas it was a great help we have just been granted our visas and i am looking into aged parent visa for my mum and dad. I have tried to find out info from everywhere about them applying once in Oz!!!! this has put my mind at rest.

[Gollywobbler]

Does anyone know if you can work on this bridging visa A. I know the aged parent 804 visa only applies to people who are retired but what if you wanted to get a little job to meet people etc. Are you allowed to work??? Is there a restriciton on hours ??

 

Cheers

 

 

Hi Karen

 

As you know, your Mum is on a Bridging Visa A. The BVA does not grant automatic permission to work.

 

However it is possible for the holder of a BVA to apply for permission to work. I am not certain about which form has to be used but I think that it might be Form 2005:

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/1005.pdf

 

However, please check this with the DIAC office in Currie St in Adelaide and make sure that I am right about which form before you wade around completing Form 1005! I've had a look through DIAC's list of forms and I can't find a separate one for the purpose but I might not have looked carefully enough, so check with the local DIAC office before you waste time, I suggest.

 

Application Forms – Alphabetical List

 

As far as I know, it used to be necessary to claim (and prove) financial hardship before an Aged Parent applicant would be able to work. However a few months ago, DIAC altered their internal policy about this.

 

Agents Gateway – 2010

 

I think (from memory) that there was something about it on the Agents Gateway portal of the DIAC website. I remember a really reputable migration agent saying something about it on Poms in Oz and according to the RMA on Poms in Oz, Aged Parent applicants were amongst the people who would find it easier to get permission to work as a result of the change of DIAC's internal policy.

 

Again, ask the people in Currie St to check the policy on this. It is best if you go there in person so that the person dealing with your query can go and check whilst you wait, I suggest.

 

I can't see any harm in your Mum being allowed to work whilst facing an interminable wait for her visa. I've heard that Bunnings encourage older people to apply to them but you might have something else in mind for your Mum? From everything I've heard, the DIAC staff in Currie St do everything possible to help the applicants for Aged Parent visas.

 

Also, whereabouts do you live? Specifically, do you live near Hallett Cove? I ask because some dear friends of mine, Diana & John, are on BVAs, wating for Aged Parent visa applictions to be processed (eventually) and they live in Hallett Cove. They are in their mid 70s and have been in Adelaide for about 12 months now. They are British and very friendly - especially Diana, who is something of a grass widow at present because John is passonate about cricket so there is hardly any sign of him at home if anything is happening at the Adelaide Oval - which seems to be a particulaly active place once the cricket season begins! Diana would definitely appreciate some company, I reckon!

 

They are keen on a Bowling Club somewhere nearby where Seniors meet once a week or something similar. I thought it was a Seniors Club but from what Diana says, it seems to be a Bowling Club, a Bowls Club or something similar. Anyhow, this Club is frequented by several very friendly Seniors. Diana & John were not that enchanted with Adelaide until they went to this Club during their first visit to Oz about 4 years ago.

 

The other Seniors at the Club made them so welcome that it transformed their views about a possible move to Oz for them both. To start with, their attitude had been that they might put up with Oz for the sake of their children. I think that they were lonely and bored to begin with. However the other Seniors at the Club befriended them and made them feel so welcome that, almost overnight, they decided that Oz is better than the UK because suddenly they had/have the sort of social life that they had not had in the UK since their children grew up and left school etc.

 

If Hallett Cove is not too far away, I could easily arrange with you for Diana and your Mum to meet up and we could ask Diana to take her to this Club if your Mum would like that? Playing bowls/bowling is not compulsory!

 

Judi (Roo1) is another good person to ask. Her Parents have Contributory Parent visas and I am not sure where they live but it is somewhere in Adelaide! Her parents have also made friends of their own via a regular community gathering of some sort. I'm sure that they would introduce your Mum to some of their own friends if you ask. Judi's father posts on here occasionally, with the user-name Grandad.

 

Please let me know whether an introduction to Diana would help.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[Guest Ellie]

That's fantastic. This is what we are hoping to do when my parents come out. Don't know the details of how to go about it though. I am the only child and my children are here too. Any advice would be gratefully received. I thought it would be complicating and I'd need an agent again. Can they travel back to the UK on the bridging visa or do they stay here? Congratulations anyway you must be over the moon.

[Gollywobbler]

That's fantastic. This is what we are hoping to do when my parents come out. Don't know the details of how to go about it though. I am the only child and my children are here too. Any advice would be gratefully received. I thought it would be complicating and I'd need an agent again. Can they travel back to the UK on the bridging visa or do they stay here? Congratulations anyway you must be over the moon.

#

 

Hi Ellie

 

When the visa applicaton is made, a Bridging Visa A comes into effect. It is not wise to leave Australia whilst on a BVA because it does not grant a right of re-entry to Oz.

 

However, if somebody wants to leave Oz for a while and then return to Oz later, it is possible for the holder of a BVA to apply for a Bridging Visa B.

 

If a Bridging Visa B is granted, the holder of a BVB can leave Oz and then return to Oz. I am told, though, that the holder of a BVB cannot spend more than 90 days outside Australia in any calendar year.

 

Some close friends of mine have applied for Aged Parent visas, as described in this thread, so they are on a BVA. They had made several visits to Adelaide from the UK before their children finally managed to persuade them to stay there for good in November 2009.

 

On one of their earlier visits to Adelaide, they told me that they had met another British couple who had been waiting for Aged Parent visas for some years. The other couple apparently said that they have some property interests in South Africa and a child in the UK. Seemingly, they don't like the cold in Adelaide in winter! Apparently, every year they get a BVB (or the BVB is a permanent state of affairs - I am not sure of the details but the other couple have BVBs, I am told.)

 

Seemingly, the other couple use their BVBs every year in order to escape from the Adelaide winter. They leave Adelaide and go to South Africa. They go from there to the UK to visit their child in the UK. Then they head back to Australia at the end of the 90-day absence, by which time it should be warming up again in Adelaide. I was told that the other couple say that they do this every single year.

 

Discussing all this with my own friends, I said that my understanding from DIAC's form about BVBs is that there needs to be some sort of compelling necessity to leave Oz for a while if one wants a BVB?

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/1024i.pdf

 

They understood my caution about this idea and went off to see DIAC in Currie Street. They told me that the DIAC official who had dealt with their query had said that there is no problem about granting BVBs to the applicants for Aged Parent visas and that if they simply want to leave Oz because they fancy taking a holiday somewhere else for a while.

 

I was surprised but the husband of the couple who are my own friends is very thorough. He had queried why the form is so draconian if the reality is as easy as the official was saying? He said that he was told that what view DIAC take of an application for a BVB depends on what DIAC's Policy Manual says. Apparently DIAC recognise that the Aussie Government forces people to wait for an unconscionably long number of years before their Aged Parent visas are eventually granted, so DIAC "soften the pill," if you like.

 

The official apparently said that DIAC are strict about the idea that Parents can only spend 90 days a year outside Oz (unless there is a genuine emergency elsewhere which would necessitate them spending a maximum of 6 months outside Oz) but apparently if the Parents just want a schange of scenery for a bit, then that is fine as long as their absence does not exceed 90 days a year outside Oz.

 

I think that one just has to hope that the official was right and that this is some sort of long-standing and firm Policy. It is important to my friends because their daughter is keen on cruising holidays for herself and her family. Apparently they fly to Sydney once a year, from where P&O Cruises run trips to places like Fiji and NZ. It would be a pity if her parents could not go on these cruises as well because all of them seem to love having their pockets hoovered by P&O!

 

I think that if you want to double check this really reliably, the best bet would be to ask Libby Hogarth in Adelaide if you are either in Adelaide yourself or you are heading there? Ms Hogarth is a migration agent and I know you want to save money but Ms Hogarth has stacks of experience with all this and she is not frightened to contact very senior people in DIAC if she needs to make absolutely certain about something.

 

Australian Migration Options formerly Libby Hogarth & Associates

 

I personally would trust Ms Hogath's advice if it were about my own widowed mother and I cannot give any of these migration agents any higher recommendation than that. If you are not in Adelaide or you are not headed there, which State are you headed for, please? There is no point in my suggesting a different agent in Sydney if I ought to be suggesting another one in Perth, for example! However if it is Adelaide then Libby Hogarth is the person whom I would choose for anything to do with my Mum.

 

Cheers

 

Gill