bettytweena

Hi all

Has anyone gone over to Oz, whilst leaving child behind to finish education????

My son is 15, and starts his GCSE's in September. His bio Dad wants him to finish his education here, so won't give permission for us to take him with us, however, he has no problems giving permission if we agree to son completing education first.

We would like to go as a family, but we need to go now, as if points increase/ rules change, we may not be able to go at all.....

Would it be wrong of me to agree to this? Son doesn't seem to mind either way, as long as he knows he can come out at some point...

Any views/ input welcome........

A very despondent poster

Sharpy67

My personal opinion..............Let him finish it in the UK.

However why must you go NOW......If you've got your permanent visa, you've got at least a year to validate it then another fours years to actually move over.

robert cowan

hi this is not a nice solution to your problem but at 15 and he wont's to go with you may get a court order.
we may have been in the same situation but we got him to sign the forms

pm me for more info ( can not give it on open froum )

Boomerang

Hello,

I think his dad is doing the right thing, speaking from personal experience, i was in the same situation when i was younger when i moved from Portugal to the Uk i was 14 at the time and it was a bit hard for me to adjust to a new learning system, i didnt do very well, but didnt do very bad. Im not aware of your personal circumstances but why not wait a little while longer?

bettytweena

We haven't got PR visas, but are currently applying for a SIR visa......we daren't wait any longer to apply, as if regs/ points change again, we are stuffed!!

When we started this process in January, we thought that if we got PR visas (with a 115 point requirement, which we could just scrape, with bond) we could go out on holiday to validate, then wait for sons education to finish.............but, and its a big but.................now our only option is SIR (with 110 point requirement), so we need to apply now, before anything else changes.

With SIR, to ultimately get PR, we need to spend at least 2 years living in a regional area, and at least 1 year working/ studying in one...........if we get this visa, then wait for son, it won't leave us enough time to meet the requirements for PR...

It really is tough, but fate has dealt us a naughty blow with regards to this....

Anyway, thanks for the replies guys...........

Bix da Boss

No words of advice I'm afraid, but just realise how hard it must be for you

Not an easy one - might make you feel a bit better - most peoples emigration process throws up one problem or another, you are certainly not alone.

Anyway
Take care all of you - try to stay positive although tis hard at times we know

lindseyden

Hi Bettytweena

We are doing the same thing only my son is just starting in year 10. It's going to be very hard for us to do but I believe it will be better for him in the long run as it'll be hard starting a new school, curriculum and making friends whilst trying to study for exams.

Good luck, 15 year old boys are very resiliient and he doesn't seem to mind so go with it.

Lindsey

tiredwithtwins

hi,
not from personal experience, but just a thought...have you considered asking his dad to allow the aplication to go through now, explaining why you need to apply now, but agree - perhaps on paper with a solicitor present - not to move out there permanently until your sons education if finished. He would have to go out to validate the visa with you (your son!) but agree to come back. If you offer to make it all legal and make the agreement onpaper with a solicitor, your ex might just agree.
just a thought...
sue

JAJ

My thoughts, in no particular order:

1. How close is your son to his father?
(if he's very close to both you and his father you may want to consider whether you really should be moving at this stage)

2. At age 15 his own views should count for something if you did need a court order. However it's best to resolve these things amicably. You may want to find out with a UK solicitor if a court order would even be needed under UK law when he turns 16 (in some countries children aged 16 or 17 are considered free to move without the other parent's consent).

3. Is his father's feeling that he should finish his (secondary) education in the UK based on his lack of knowledge about the Australian system, or is it part of a deeper agenda. It would certainly make sense to finish his GCSE stage in the UK before switching systems. Can you do some research on the Australian system for the last two years of secondary education which might help to ease his father's concerns.

4. On the SIR visa, you can't validate and move at your leisure the way you can on a regular PR visa.

5. Whether it would be ok with DIMIA for your son to be granted a SIR visa, validate it, and then return to the UK for a year or two while the rest of you settled in Australia is not clear. DIMIA normally wouldn't accept the idea of families sending children to Sydney for education, but if a child is going back overseas for a specific period it *might* be accepted.

6. Once you get PR you can sponsor your son as a dependent child, but the easy route to dependent child migration is only available until he turns 18. After he turns 18 you need to show he is 'dependent' on you in the sense of being supported by you, and things get a lot harder.

You may want to hire a good migration agent to explore the migration issues in more detail.

Jeremy

Hels

Just another thing to think about regarding your sons future when and if he moves out after completing his education here in the UK. As Australian employers arent familiar with UK education system, he may be more competative in applying for jobs and or University if he has completed the senior years in Australia. At least he will be applying on a level playing field as all of the other school leavers.

I dont envy your position at all and wish you all the luck in the world making such a huge decision.

Hels
xxx

bettytweena

HI all

Thanks for the replies...........it makes me feel better to know that others have/ are doing the same thing...............

All the points are, in my opinion, very valid......maybe his bio Dad is using schooling as an excuse, I don't know for sure...what I do know is that I love my child very much, and want what is best for him, not for me or his bio Dad.....that is the difficult bit, cause this is a new situation for me, and I don't know, in the long run, what the best for him is........he wants to go with us, but his bio Dad says no.................my son is 15, surely what he wants counts?????????
Furthermore, he has never lived with his bio Dad because since he was 2 years old, he has lived with me and his step-dad............or in many peoples opinion, his REAL DAD, who has brought him up and cared for him......

The situation stinks, i'm sorry, rightly or wrongly, i'm feeling very, very bitter.