sudds

We have decided as a family to try to obtain a visa for PR in Australia. Changes in our oldest sons attitude to this, has had a dissruptive affect on the family but seeing as our other two children (GIRLS) are still very keen that gives us the majority vote, being democratic we will continue with this.
seriously there is many factors to this process that have huge positives that only we as parents can understand i.e making young peolple make decisions.
!Carl And Linda!

red back

I have 4 children, 2 grils & 2 boys. My 2 eldest are the boys aged 16 & 18. We started this emmigration journey april 04 having just returned from a rekkie in Perth. I have encouraged my children to get on as many forums as they can to meet other teenagers in the same situtation, they have met many others either still in the processing of emmigrating or those who are there and settled (ex-pats). After meeting on the forums they then have added then to their msn and chat, you would be surprised to the amount of kids who meet and suport each other through this route. What started out for us to be quite a dilemma as whether to up-root our teenagers from a settled life-style where they seemed happy has led to them not being able to wait to get out there and meet there new found friends in Perth who are infact all happy and settled!

Chris Mitchell

Its a real dilemma isn't it when you want ng to to do something yet want to balance out effect on kids. We are also a democratic family whilst trying to remember that this is also our life, the kids, and I love them dearly, have their time to come. My eldest is havihg to make some decisions but I cross my fingers that he will be accepted with us as he assures me he will come initially but I know he and friends in tow are planning a trip at our hospitality.

something to look forward to then!!

Chris

marysidey

It is so good to see other people going through the same issues
we have 3 "young adults"
James is 13 and would mo ve there tomorrow
My main angst with the visa process application was whether they would accept that Jemma then 19 was dependant
when they did i was over the moon but the problem is jemma and becci (17) havnt actually been to australia yet and consequently Becci thinks we are taking her to the end of civilisation as she knows it
Jemma has settled into Uni and doesnt know whether to just come for holidays and stay in Manchester or transfer

I cannot imagine being able to settle unless the girls are somewhere near to me I suppose thats m y insecurity and i have to accept they are grow(ing) up!!

anyway I think we have convinced them to give it long enough to get citizenship
we all fly out on June 30th so please wish us luck and keep youir fingers crossed that the girls will like it

Any tips or contacts with people with teenagers bayside Brisbane would be appreciated

thanks for reading my rambling
love Mary

Chris Mitchell

Mary,
I have followed your story since you said about your eldest.
I really wish you all the very best of luck hopefully when they get to the sun and start meeting people they will all settle, we are much in same position with our eldest but he wants us to go- who knows where he will end up living, as in which country.

Good Luck keep us informed as to how you all get on,

Love Chris

Chris Mitchell

Hi Carl and Linda,
just wanted to say great thread, as it would appear a lot of us are in the same position. As you can see from the replies the anxieties are very similar.
Where abouts are you heading we are not sure yet depends on jobs hoping to get one lined up before we leave.
Good luck, Chris

sudds

Hi Chris, we are not sure where we will be heading but are going to give our selves 2 months to find a place that suits....jobs schools etc.
It is really frustrating with Ben the eldest as he has just met the girl of his dreams and has had his brain turned to mush....a normal sensible human being has become smitten.......lol i remember it well in the dim and distant past. He said he will validate and give it two weeks?????
Then he is coming back to uk to live his life. We are trying to encourage a move out into a flat whilst we are still here so we can see how he gets on but i have my doubts with his thought processing at the moment. I am sure that all thing being equal it will all work out but still dissapointed that he cant give it a try.......could it all be a little bravado
Nice to keep this thread live so we can all share tips on how to remain sane!
Carl and Linda

sula

[QUOTE=jaxowen]reluctant/fickle teenagers are often mentioned on this forum. We've got three aged - 14, 16, 17. eldest lives with her mum and is just coming out to validate as will be into final year of a-levels when we go. she is planning to spend some of her gap year with us then we'll see. 16 year old has girlsfriend of 1 year! obviously he is planning to spend the rest of his life with her as 'it is definately the real thing and anyone who thinks other wise doesn't know what they're talking about!' He has agreed to come out for about 6 months to see how it goes! The youngest was initially keen but has since developed a social life and has no desire to 'leave his best mate as they are planning to be in a band together and anyway if they get signed by a record company before we go he's not even going to come and validate!' ah bless em!

I think the problem is that teenagers lives are so great it's no wonder that they don't want it to change, they can't imagine that it could be better, they have great mates/girlfriends. they enjoy the comfort of their familiar stomping ground, their bed/hotel rooms have everything they could ever need and whats more they live with at least one cash dispensing cook!

As a parent it is our job to feel guilty about every descision we ever make with regard to our childrens lives and emigrating could be concieved as a very selfish act - however if you genuinely believe that their lives could be improved by the move then hold on to that very tightly and go for it..

So with all that in mind i pop my blinkers back on keep applying that extra layer that keeps me thick skinned and keep my fingers crossed that i can just get them all on the bluddy plane - after that it's every man for himself!

jax

btw Oliver Reed once said in an interview that 'the fact that all his kids can afford the counselling they now need due to his poor parenting shows that he can't have been that bad a parent in the first place!'

mmm.. best keep some of that money from the house sale to one side


Fab post!
Oh the joy of parenting teenagers.
Best wishes,
Sula

sudds

Jeremy could you tell me if he validates with us and then returns to the U.K. what is his prognosis for future travel. visas etc. Thanks in anticipation Carl and Linda

Chris Mitchell

Hi Linda,
I would be very interested in the responses to this one.

If eldest is accepted on our visa but then decides to come and validate but then return to the UK, how does this affect him staying when we have tried to prove dependancy, and he has returned.

the other is can we use family route if so which, although I realize we have to be in Oz for 2 years and assume obtained citizenship. does last surviving rel count when they have other family in the UK, ie grandparents

Chris

JAJ

I suggest you look at the requirements for remaining relative on the DIMIA website rather than relying on hearsay. Grandparents do not count but parents, siblings and non-dependent children do. And if you have a spouse, spouses relatives also count (therefore the vast majority of successful applicants are single).

Jeremy

sj oldfield

Hi,

we have two teenage boys with us.
Jake will be 14 in May. he has settled in very well. has made a load of friends, and doing well at school.
He also has joined a local Ken jitsui class. He's doing fine.
The eldest Toby, will be 18 this year. he also seems to be doing 'ok'. Not getting on quite as well as the younger but he is getting there. he finished school in the UK, and completed a year at our local college.
He is not sure what he wants to do long term, and decided not to go to TAFFE here. We wanted him to go, but hey, its his life.
He has a little job in Hungry Jacks, joondalup.
He plays 5 a side soccor on a Thursday.
He goes to bingo!!!!! with my elderly uncle on a monday. he is undertaking driving lessons at the moment.
AND..he has his dog. Lampard!!!!!

Its not easy with the kids being older, but you have to give and take.
e don do many family things at the weekend, as the kids say they will look like sissys coming out with us.

Good luck with it

JAJ

Basically if he doesn't qualify for a Resident Return Visa after the 5 year period on his migration visa, his residence will likely be gone.
http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/968i.pdf

He can stay a few years in the UK but the door will close after that. The only safe way to do this is to come to Australia, get citizenship, and after that think about what the options for the future are.

It's important to take decisions like this with open eyes.

Jeremy

Janice Richardson

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Hi, i am 15 and initially i wanted to go with my mum and dad to australia, but now its approaching and i have just got a place at a great 6th form collage i really dnt wna go...it is causing arguements, but i cant help how i feel. Any other teenagers feel the same? any advice?
mum says i should go and try for a year...but this is an important year to my studies, if i move then come back my education will be messed up...i'd rather wait till i have done my A-levels...wat u think?
reply please x

Elaine M

Hi Janice,

I'm not trying to give you advice here; as a mum myself I think you have to talk everything through with your parents and make sure that each of you understands the other's point of view.

All I would say is make sure you've all considered all options and weighed up the pros and cons. For example, could you think about going over for a while to try living in Australia, say for a year or two (after two years living there, you could apply for citizenship, get an Aussie passport then you could come and go as you please) and then return to the UK if you wanted to? You could continue your education in Aus, maybe checking out whether the qualification would be recognised back in the UK just in case, so you wouldn't lose out?

If you did want to stay in the UK who would you stay with if your parents still want to go to Aus?

Just a thought, the important thing is to think it through before deciding anything.

Good luck with whatever you do,

Elaine M