Grayling

I was checking because I am curious about this RRV you say you have.

A RRV is for 5 years but you say yours is for 10

I was looking to see if there was any reason why you would have a visa with conditions that no one on here has heard of before?

C-Diddy

LOL, not defeatist, just want my life to be great for once!

Follow your dreams they tell you... so I am trying to ... whether it be Australia or it be the UK, I want a great life! And for my son.
Thanks for the PM, will check it now.

Really, I'm not a negative person, but it's hard to respond to so many posts with so many POVs. I'm just a regular single guy trying to make his life the best it can be.

Yes I earned about £22k in Torquay in my last PA job. Not glamorous pay for that but it's the cheap regions like here and Devon that people are tight-wads with their cash. I shall look up those agencies, thanks

christmasoompa

Just another thought, but if it's just you, and you want to save money, then there are loads of 'live in' accommodation PA or estate staff jobs around. You'd usually get a flat or cottage on the estate, I've never looked in to them as I have a family so it's not an option for me, but perhaps something to investigate? You'd still earn around £500-800 a week with a home included, although you'd perhaps have to be 'on call' more than ideal.

The last place I worked at had an Estate Manager, Private PA, Chef and a couple of other staff members, all of whom had accommodation as part of their jobs. The Private PA's 'cottage' was a rather lovely 3 bed house with it's own garden on the river!

C-Diddy

That's not what I said. You need to read ALL the relevant posts...
I said that from your last departure from Australia, you can still renew the RRV up to 10 years later. After 10 years of absence from Australia, you cannot renew it any more, it's dead.

I also said that 5 years is the max TRAVEL allowance you can get granted. Please read ALL the posts to learn about what I am talking about. It will save an argument and useless repetition. Thanks.

christmasoompa

And that was for a Private PA job? Not a corporate PA? That does seem ludicrously low to me. I was approached about a job in Somerset not long ago, £60-80k a year despite being in a 'cheap region'.

C-Diddy

wow! Yes that sounds ideal
Lovely! I want something just like that !! LOL

Grayling

Curiouser and curiouser

C-Diddy

Yeah that was a Private PA in Devon with accommodation. I know it was not a lot but I hadn't been a PA before that for many years, it was good to get back into it. Took the opportunity to be near the sea.

What sort of job was the Somerset one? The salary sounds excellent to me.
I would be fine with that. I should get onto those agencies. I would not go for a Corporate PA role though, but a Private PA.

What agency approached you for that job in Somerset?

C-Diddy

Keep reading... your curiosity will be quelled :P

Grayling

Oh indeed....I am riveted

christmasoompa

£22k isn't bad with accommodation then. How were you struggling to survive on that if you had all your bills paid, that's £1500 a month after tax and with no bills to pay at all that should have been plenty?

The Somerset job was just a Private PA job, for an entrepreneur (job ad speak for 'bloody wealthy businessman'). I've no idea which agency it was - as I mentioned on my PM, I've worked for royalty and some fairly high profile people, so I tend to get quite a few agencies approach me via Linked In etc. None of their jobs are ever of any interest to me though as I don't want to work full-time and only work from home!

C-Diddy

Yes you'd think with that kind of money I'd be set. But no. I have debts I am paying off and costs of living keep going up. I've run low on funds and jobs around this region are not suitable. London may be the key then, if I'm going to stay here... we shall see!

Off out to get some shopping... be back later

Pollyana

He appears to have a unique visa deal, which doesn't fit with any others I have seen over the years. Very lucky. The annoying thing is that for personal reasons I would really like to know how to be absolutely sure of a 10 year RRV, but I can't find official details anywhere. I shall keep searching for myself .....

Grayling

Indeed.....I can't find anything about it either....not that I am bothered as I am a citizen anyway....it just seems odd to me

Alborg

Have been reading with interest. It's a difficult situation and there will be hurt and disappointment with whatever decision you make. I'm not in exactly the same situation but I also have a very difficult decision to make with regard to leaving someone for migration, not a child but a partner.

On one hand your child is at an age where they really need you in their life, your absence would in no doubt affect them and at an age where they grow up so fast so you would never get back those special moments that you would miss by being away. In fact your absence could also permanently affect your relationship with your child.

On the other hand being separated as you are now could also be affecting your relationship with your child. Your child will one day grow up and reach an age where they will move on from both their parents, potentially within the next 10 years, and follow their own path. However that's as much a reason to enjoy the time you have with them now than to leave. Also your child already has a primary carer and mother who may very well move on and meet a new partner at some point in the future potentially lessening your influence. You also seem very unhappy in the UK and want to open the door for the future for yourself and your child. However if I'm honest I think you can only say for certainty that for now it would be for yourself as you've no idea what your child's wishes will be when they are older. Also on the grand scheme of things 4 years isn't a long time for an adult but a lifetime for a child. But you wouldn't want to spend the rest of your life having to live in the UK and regret not moving to Australia.

It's a real shame that you can't wait until your child is in their late teens e.g. 16 years old, where I don't think it would be as much of an issue. In fact a lot of teenagers, assuming they already have a supportive family setup, would think it a bonus that they have one parent living overseas as it could open up doors for them in the future, with visits or a possible move.

Either way you can't foresee the future but you can only do your best for today. When is the very latest that you can return to Australia and how old will your child be? In an ideal world the best outcome would be to stay in the UK until your child is say 16 then move to Australia. What are the chances of you reapplying from scratch when your child is 16? For arguments sake could you spend the next 9 years living in the UK and retraining to a different skill that is in high demand eg. Doctor/nurse. Would you be miserable to spend the rest of your life in the UK? You also have a US passport, what is wrong with US when you are older?

If you have exhausted all of the above and as heartbreaking as it sounds, I would say go get your passport. But stay in touch by whatever means necessary daily/weekly Skype calls, regular trips back and forth for birthdays/xmas etc. etc. 4 years is not a long time for a lifetime decision but be sure to understand that it is a decision for yourself and not for your child, although it may benefit your child in the future. Your child is not old enough to fully understand that decision so it is your decision only and you have to live with that. Once the 4 years are up you risk never having the same relationship with your child, it could be better, worse or the same. But thinking of the bigger picture there are plenty of families around the world where a parent is separated from a child by migration for long periods of time for whatever reason, mainly economical, and sadly some parents choose not to play a role in their children's lives at all even when they live in the same town. So assuming you spent the next 4 years in Australia with "regular" contact and then returning to the UK until your child is 16 or 18, it's not the best but also not the worst scenario I can think of.