fiz

Its so heartening to see people in the same position as me-I too have a daughter/ son-in-law and 2 grandsons in Sydney-plus a son and daughter in law and 2 more grandsons, also in Sydney..at least they chose the same city!

You mention lodging your application during your trip in August...I think my agent told me I had to be out of the country to lodge it...not sure if this is right but it might be worth checking

Happy form filling...for me the worst bit was getting all the certificates etc validated (or whatever its called) by a solicitor.

Whereabouts in Sydney are your family?

johnemo

Thanks to everyone encouraging me to get on with it now We know that there is plenty of support for us out there. I had seen the reference to what constitutes 'settled', but there were other factors that dictated the timing. Once again, many thanks for your encouragement.

fiz: On the subject of certified copies of birth/marriage certificates. Is it easier to get the certificates from www.gro.gov.uk - at £9.75 each? I'm not sure what constitutes 'certified and how much a solicitor costs?

John

poshslice

Hello Fiz and Johnemo

Another set of Sydneysiders parents here. Our daughter and s.i.l moved there in 2005. They rented a few properties and then last year bought their own home. They are adding to the occupants in July! Our first grandson!

Although we have visited 4 times now and I am going (on my own) in September, we still can't agree as to what to do, regarding visas.

Our younger daughter and husband and our granddaughter live about 200 yards away from us in Wiltshire and we can't see them ever wanting to be in Sydney.

We did all go in January February this year, but it was so hot and humid, it was a definite no from them.

So, I lurk with envy!

The time must drag so much for you all starting your applications, but at least you are doing them.

Whenever the red stars are posted, I am as happy for you as you are for yourselves.

Cheers from a Wiltshire lurker!

Barbaran

Hello Lurker,

A very difficult decision for you. Fortunately both daughters went to Perth and everything has been planned that way. However, I do believe that I would have spent the Summer here (6mths) and the Summer there (6 mths)
but I know of many that can't make the decision. I would ask myself where do I want to grow old?

Good luck and keep watching

Barbara

allanandros

Hi! Is this a sudden rash of newbies? I thought Ros and I would be pretty much the only ones as most of the posts we saw have been by and about folks much further on in the process. Our younger son and his wife and two of our grangkids have been in Oz for eight years now. Our older son and his wife and the other two grandkids arrive in Sydney tomorrow. We are all that is left of the family in the UK now. No sweat for us about where to grow old - but still a daunting decision in other ways. Cheers, Allan

allanandros

Just a thought for poshslice - our older son - the one just moved to Sydney was head-hunted for his present new post two and a half years ago. At that time he just felt he did not want to move. So, people change their minds - you never know - your Wiltshire family may also decide to go - eventually. Our older son lived in Caln for seven years before making this move. Cheers

Julian927

I have been following this thread since we lodged our application some fifteen months ago. It has been so interesting and also very useful following various peoples trials, tribulations, successes and celebrations.
Of particular interest just recently was the information on how to pay the 2nd VAC at the High Commission in London. When the request came from our CO ( via our agent) we decided to pay by credit card in sterling at the High Commission. Our agent told us that this was not possible and that we had to send the credit card details to Perth. We ignored this and front loaded our credit card and sent the details to London and, today, they have taken the money. I would never have imagined that one day I would be so overjoyed to see that much money disappear in one fell swoop!
Steve, would you please update the tracker?
We are now looking forward to getting the red star.
We wish you all the best of luck and to those of you who are just starting the process, eighteen months seems a long time but it's surprising how quickly the time goes.

Ian & Julie

Barbaran

How lovely to hear from you Ian and Julie and well done for the persistence and the information for others. Here's hoping for lots of Red Stars in May and June.

Anyone heard from Mors as there is a lot of empty spaces on the trackker for them. Would love to hear from you.

johnemo

Hi fiz, in my excitement I missed your inquiry as to where in Sydney - up until last week they were in rented accommodation in Hunters Hill but now they have moved into a house they bought in Balgowlah Heights. I'm looking forward to doing the odd jobs they will have saved up for me!

Hi to lurker poshslice, hope all goes well for daughter in July. We were also in Sydney in January (went out in October!). Never say never - you could be there for good one day.

Barbaran

Another thought for Poshslice, our girls went knowing that we would have to follow, how right they were. Someone has to lead the way. Yes I agree, never say never!

pemajoka

Hi john and Fiz also
If you have the documents your solicitor may not charge for certified copies, Mine did not but it was not many docs but daughters solicitor charged her £50for all of the copies but that did also include for all son in laws qualifications.
You can get copies of original birth, marriage certs etc from place of issue for a few pounds, our council charges £7 and does them within 24 hrs.
just another way . Best of luck
pete

Les Avalook

The sad fact is that would of been the one time your agent could of saved you some money and he tells you the wrong thing.

At the moment the rate is borderline so any saving could be small but last autumn there was almost £3000 saving for a couple if you paid 2nd vac in London.

Last year even London would tell poms to pay in Perth but by now you would think that agents would be up to date and give you the choice.

sandch

A migration agent who knows less than most people on here; you wonder how they stay in business. Les is right, the benefit is marginal or negative at the moment, except for the convenience factor.

On the subject of the tracker, sometimes people don't go ahead with their application and we never hear from them again. After a while I hide them on the tracker. There are one or two who have probably either got visas or dropped out, so it's time for a tidy up I think.

Best wishes

Steve

fiz

From what I remember, I too bought those certified copies but i still needed the get certified copies of my passport and the kids Oz visas etc..and also do a statutory declaration. Some solicitors hate doing these so charge loads..my daughter used a friend of her Dad's and rewarded him with a large bottle of Pimms!

Location wise, my son owns a house in Forestville and my daughter rents in Terrey Hills. Balgowlah Heights is lovely..one of the places I am looking to buy in eventually, exchange rate permitting, is Fairlight, just down the road.

Good luck with everything..and enjoy your August trip-I'm out for a month then too to see everyone
Best wishes
Fiz

poshslice

Barbara, Allan and John
Many thanks for your replies.

We've been using the lovely weather of the last few days to encourage movement! Still not worked.

Out of interest, Barbara, if you had done the 6 month here, 6 month there scenario, would a visa have been needed or just the ETA I am using at the moment?

Pam