Newbie From Pretoria

[PtaDaisy]

Hi

I have been following the forum every now and then as we go through phases of 'OK we are definitely going', 'oh no wait, now we’re staying again'. Currently we are for the first time seriously beginning to make plans to go by end January 2012.

Don't know if our story is unique but here goes:

I am, with my husband in the IT industry. We have two daughters aged 7 months and 2 years old and with them being the most important little bundles of joy in our lives, are one of the main reasons we are trying to work out for ourselves how we can give them the best possible start in live. We got our PR August 2009, did a three week validation trip to Brisbane and Sydney March 2010, and have since still been deciding whether to go or stay, maybe I should say breaking our heads over the decision.

I have found such good advice and valuable information on the forum, especially in terms of personal experiences that I have decided that it is time to start taking part. The first point on our to-do list is to get a visa for our 7 month old as she was not born when we got our PR.

[Orion25]

HI PtaDaisy

Welcome to the forum, as you have been lurking in the background for a while you kow what usefull information is here.

Hope you get all your questions answered and believe me there are many of us who would rather bw in your shoes with the visa and then deciding. As for me and my family we are still awaiting ACT SS approval before we can lodge for our visa. We have sold our house though in the interim as of today we officially have a "SOLD" sign outside, which in itself is rather heartbreaking.

Good luck on your journey and keep us posted on the progress for your visa for the little one.

T

[Toitjie]

good luck...not an easy decision. Kids change the whole damn picture, if it wasnt for them I wouldnt be sitting here typing on this forum. I hope they appreciate one day the agony we went through for them!

[Luke and Robs]

Our stories seem to be following the same path. Like you, we got our PR visas in January 2010. We validated in july 2010 with a visit to Perth (which we have subsequently decided not to settle in) and have until 2015 to get in. Our baby girl was born in September and so we also have apply for a separate visa for her! A very expensive exercise. We are hoping to do "Die Groot Trek" in January 2014 unless we can get our ducks in a row before then! I have also recently come back onto the forum (after trying out about 100 passwords) and it is very encouraging to hear other's stories. Good luck. Hope all goes well. Maybe we'll meet up in Aus one day and all this will be history.

Robyn

[PtaDaisy]

Thanks to all for the welcome messages. Children definitely complicate matters! ‘T’ you are lucky to have sold your house as that is probably one of the difficult things to get done before being able to go, and a sad one as such.

Robyn I am glad to hear from you! I thought we were the only crazy ones not in Aus already after getting our PR’s. We just came back from a wonderful vacation at the coast, Scottburgh, with the family and it makes thinking of going away hard.

I would like to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind: Did you apply directly at the embassy for your little one’s visa or at VFS? Also did you do police clearance again, and how long did it take to get a visa for her? We have been waiting 6 months for our baby’s unabridged birth certificate, which probably means they have lost our application 

We will be going to Brisbane as we know 3 families there, we don’t have any family going with or even remotely interested in going. Brisbane is a very nice city. Where are you thinking of going if Perth is not an option? I have read another forum message where somebody strongly advised not to go in Dec or Jan as Aus comes to a halt, therefore we have thought end Jan as we will probably only look for a job once we are there.

[AAAZR]

This might be a very silly question... but I've been wondering about it for a while now.

Your visa was granted August 2009 and you validated March 2010 which means your visa is valid until 2015. If one were to decide to only go in 2014 for example won't that mean that you would not have stayed there long enough to apply for citizenship before visa expires?

How long do you actually have to stay there to apply for citizenship? And what if visa expires before that time?

Hope someone can shed some light on this for me...

A

[zoot]

With a PR visa there isnt an expiry date as such i.e that says you can live in the country up till this date and then you must get out or change to another visa which is a condition on some of the other visa types. Your PR visa is valid for 5 years as it stands - meaning you can come and go from Australia as many times as you like without needing any additional visas. After the 5 years is up you will need a resident return visa if you plan to return to Australia - these I think have a set lifetime after which you will need to renew. So if you never intended to get Australian citizenship but wanted to continue to live in the country you would have to continue to renew your resident return visa when you were planning on being out of the country.

The idea is that as you need to have been resident in Oz for 4 years before you can apply for citizenship - the 5 years will give you sufficient time after you have validated your visa to come and go to sort out all those niggly details with migration and then be able to settle in the country. So if the PR visa "expires" before you have managed to stay in Oz for 4 years no problem if you dont plan on leaving the country you continue as normal. If you plan to leave the country for say a holiday you apply for a residents return visa and when that is granted you go on holiday and come back and continue with life as normal. I am not sure what happens if someone hasnt formally moved to Australia after those 5 years though.

[Superkruz]

Zoot is correct. A PR visa provides two things:

1. The right to live in Australia. This right never expires, and the bearer of the visa has this right indefinitely.
   
2. The right to enter Australia. This right expires after 5 years. People often wrongly say that their PR visa has "expired" when it is actually only this travel facility that has expired. If you are outside Australia after the expiry date, you cannot use the PR visa to travel to Australia. This is where you would need to get a Resident Return Visa. There are 2 types, a 5-year and a 3-month visa. Once you re-enter Australia on your Resident Return Visa, you can continue to live in Aus on your original PR visa for as long as you like, or until you get Citizenship.
   

[AAAZR]

That answers my question then

Thank you very much Zoot and Superkruz! :ilikeit:

A

[Riekie]

Lord Alfred Tennyson said: "It is better to have loved and lost than not to have loved at all"

Immigration is a little bit like that. You'll never know if you don't experience it.

Hope you find the answer that's right for you and your family. If your kid's future was your main motivation, then let that be your guide...

[2OZweGO]

Thanks to all for the welcome messages. Children definitely complicate matters! ‘T’ you are lucky to have sold your house as that is probably one of the difficult things to get done before being able to go, and a sad one as such.

Robyn I am glad to hear from you! I thought we were the only crazy ones not in Aus already after getting our PR’s. We just came back from a wonderful vacation at the coast, Scottburgh, with the family and it makes thinking of going away hard.

I would like to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind: Did you apply directly at the embassy for your little one’s visa or at VFS? Also did you do police clearance again, and how long did it take to get a visa for her? We have been waiting 6 months for our baby’s unabridged birth certificate, which probably means they have lost our application 

We will be going to Brisbane as we know 3 families there, we don’t have any family going with or even remotely interested in going. Brisbane is a very nice city. Where are you thinking of going if Perth is not an option? I have read another forum message where somebody strongly advised not to go in Dec or Jan as Aus comes to a halt, therefore we have thought end Jan as we will probably only look for a job once we are there.

PtaDaisy, formally welcome to the forum. Our story is also along the same lines. We got our PR Visa in Dec 2008 and decided to wait awhile to save $ and gain more work experience to be in a position to secure better employment once decided to go. When we decided on 2010 we were blessed with a little boy. So our plans were postponed. We are now planning to go Jan/Feb 2012 and also to Brisbane. Our good friends (“Lynnie” on the forum) are already there.

I submitted the VISA application for our son this week and applied directly to VFS. We had to do another police clearance (for both parents) which is to be included in the VISA application. The VISA will take +- 2-3 months (but could be sooner). Your little one must also do a medical examination before/or after the VISA application. We waited for 10 months for our son’s unabridged birth certificate. I constantly phoned them which eventually expedited the procedure (they are so useless!!).

It is normal to reconsider the decision (especially if taking so long to make the big move….I can relate), but the hard choice you are making now is an investment and will deliver beautiful fruits in the future for you and especially the children.

You can send me a PM if you want further advice on your son’s VISA or anything else (it seems that we might be going the same time).

[Lynnie]

Hi,

This is the most difficult decision we had to make...

We have been in Brisbane for about 3 months now and I can honestly say that I will NEVER NEVER EVER live in SA again!!! The freedom and lifestyle we enjoy here are wonderful. Never having to look over your shoulder, the opportunities for kids and just the whole mindset and way of life here of the people make it worthwhile. They have no idea how lucky they are to live in such a beautiful, free and peaceful city!! It feels strange reading the newspaper here - there is very little "violent" (their concept of violent considerably differs from SA...) crime - and then you only read about ONE INCIDENT on page 8

YES we are heartbroken over our families and friends (and of course Die Bulle!!!), BUT my children come first and the future here is defenitely more positive and prosperous than in SA. It also depends on your mindset when you eventually make the move - you must try to stay positive although there are days when it is not so easy

We asked oursevles this question - do we want to stay in SA and play russian roullette and wait until something dreadful happens before we make the move? Or do we give it a chance (and give 100%) and build a safe, happy life?

Unfortunately we are the generation that needs to make this difficult move, otherwise chances are good our children will and we most likely will be left behind in SA...

Good luck with your choice - we are in Brisbane, pm me if you need any advice or just want to chat

[Alida]

Welcome, PtaDaisy ! We lodged in May 2010 and also were blessed with a baby girl since then. 'Luckily' we've not been assigned a CO yet, so we'll be able to just add her to the application. On the other hand, we're eagerly awaiting the CO !!