Aussie/Brit family looking to upsticks to Australia

Last activity 17 January 2014 by stumpy

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miriamsmumMember13 January 2014 00:06:17

Hi, We just got a shock looking at the immigration costs for Australia and cannot beleive how much things have changed.
My husband is An aussie by birth and we met when I was over there visiting family 12 years ago. We married and due to the cost of spouse visas then, I came home. He followed a week later and we managed to get him a Residency visa for the UK. All was ok, we didnt plan to stay here long term but ended up having a family which meant any early return was ruled out. My husband has been wanting to go back home for around 6 years now, but what with the children being so young we kind of kept putting it off. Recently work started to decline here as well as general living standards and he has again raised the idea of going home and us all going with him. This is fine, but, the cost, omg! the cost!! If we could get through that hoop the main stumbling block is the health checks. I know for a fact that if it came down to it, my health will fail my visa application (I am disabled since birth and now have two degenerative health conditions, not that need ongoing care, but that require medication) I have no income here in the UK so yes my husband would have to support me and our children, as he already does. We would have somewhere to stay there and its possible a family member might be prepeared to sponsor me, but if australia are going to be picky about my health then is it really worth it? We are in a rock and a hard place right now, and it looks like we are in no mans land as far as this is concerned. I thought that as his wife of over 10 years with children it would be enough proof of our family unit/relationship, returning aussie etc would be enough without the added problem of my health coming into it. Any advice? Thanks

stumpyLaos Expert13 January 2014 20:41:22

17942

You are caught between a rock and a hard place and I sympathize with your situation.

The govt would not cover any medical expenses for you and your family. You would have to take out your own private cover. In fact the govt is making people here take out private cover. If you don't have it you get taxed more !! Oz is number 6 in the top ten highest taxed countries in the world.

You would also have to pay for education expenses for kids schooling.

Unemployment is rising too. Cost of living is high. For this try www.numbeo.com

If your husband has a reasonable job and income in UK I would seriously advise staying put.The cost of establishing yourselves here in Oz would be off putting to say the least.

miriamsmumMember16 January 2014 23:24:37

Hi Thanks for that, I didnt know we would have to pay for schooling? husband wasnt aware of this either... what if we got them dual citizenshipped? this is something he has been planning to do since they were born... he always assumed that if they had that then going back would be a walk in the park... seems not.. :-(
Husband is not in a well paid job here, and we only rent. In Aus he suffered an injury at work and he had to claim through the injuries board which meant he was pretty much black listed for any work in aus after that time. He spent 7 years with very little work, but over here he has been in work continuously for the past 11 years. He is concerned if he went back and applied for work that the injury claim would show up again or that he would still have to declare it even after all this time. I guess we just want a better life for our children than what we have here, and that this country is now starting to close in on him somewhat.
Thanks for the reply :-)

stumpyLaos Expert17 January 2014 22:40:01

17942

As far as I am aware it would take up to 11 years to get the dual citizenship.
As far as school fees go, boat people who arrive and are put out into the community have to pay $4000 per child per year school fees.

Husband would have a problem getting work here having claimed for his back injury. Employers would not touch someone who has had a back injury.

What sort of work does your husband do, what qualifications and experience does he have.

I gave up working overseas Jan 2012 and came back to Oz to work but the tax is a killer ( I pay 42% on the upper limit of my salary)so I am now trying to get back overseas again.

I can understand where you are coming from regarding children. I live in Laos and have a wife and 3 kids there and only want something better for them.

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