Ziggy: Waarheen nou?

[Ziggy]

Ons het vir die afgelope 5 jaar in Auckland NZ gewoon, maar ek was so "homesick" dat dit ondraaglik vir my vrou en kinders geraak het om met my huis te hou. Ons het einde Oktober 2005 teruggekeer na my "drome en verlange", maar nou na 6 maande het die lugbabbel gebars!!

Die heuningmaan is verby, vriende en familie wat op ons gelê het om terug te kom het aanbeweeg, want die snaaksheid en interesante stories is verby. In kort hulle lewens het aangegaan en ons spartel. Nie net met eensaamheid nie, maar ook met die toenemende geweldadigheid in rooftogte, korrupsie en wat daarmee saamgaan en totale wetteloosheid!! Niemand gee vir niemand om nie en algemene goeie maniere bestaan net nie meer nie. Mense vergryp hulle aan materiële dinge en koop in 'n mate hulle veiligheid. Mens kan egter net jou veiligheid tot 'n skere mate koop, dan is jy maar net so kwesbaar soos die man langs jou...

Ek is vandag bitter spyt dat ek my gesin terug gebring het na my "plekkie" in die son, wat nie meer bestaan nie. Die kinders het wel goed aangepas en geniet die werklik om weer by hulle oupas en ouma te wees en baljaar heerlik saam met die nefies. My dogter word tot in die afgrond bederf en dit sal vreeslik swaar vir ons wees om weer te trek, die hele proses weer aan te pak en van land en die bekende weg te beweeg, maar ek lê saans wakker en bekommer my oor hulle toekoms en ja, ook vir ons oorlewing. In 5 jaar het baie dinge gebeur en meeste van kontakte wat aan my lojaal was, sien ons nou as "oorlopers" en in 'n besigheidswêreld is dit nie goeie nuus nie...

Ons het dubbel burgerskap, SA en NZ en het gedink om miskien Australië toe te trek. Die inligting wat ons tot dusver op die internet bymekaar kon maak is maar skraps en eposte gerig aan die Australiese binnelandse sake(Immigration services) is steeds onbeantwoord.

Wat ek graag wil uitvind is die volgende:

a. As NZ burgers, kwalifiseer ons dadelik om in Australië te woon en werk, sonder ander dokumente en aansoeke?

b. My kinders, seun 14 en dogter 11. Hoe gaan hulle skoolgaan beinvloed word as ons nie PR het nie, maar NZ burgers is?

c. Hoe werk die medies in Australië as NZ burgers. Het ons nodig om eers aansoek te doen vir PR, voordat ons kwalifiseer om van hulle staatsmedies gebruik te maak.

d. Is daar iets anders wat ons moet weet alvorens ons die stap neem om as NZ burgers oor te gaan instede van SA burgers?

Ek sal dit waardeer indien iemand wat die pad uit NZ gevolg het, dalkies vir my meer inligting kan gee. Ek is baie onseker oor alles en wil nie aan die anderkant aankom en dan "sit ons op straat" nie.

Ek sal dit ook waardeur as iemand wat dalk in Brisbarne omgewing(Gold Coast/Sunshine Coast) bly meer kan vertel van die omgewing. Tans is ons in Bloemfontein(te koud vir my vrou), het in Auckland gebly, maar die weer het my teen die mure uitgedryf, so ek is op soek na 'n middeweg... as daar so-iets is?

Baie dankie

[Pippa]

Hi Tukino,

Welcome to the forum.

I am sure I've read your post or a similar post on Carte Blanche's Expat Blog forum.

According to my knowledge, a NZ Citizen has the right to work and live in Australia. Unfortunately, I am not sure what visa (if any) one should apply for.

Good luck.

Pippa

[Riekie]

Ai, dit is hartseer om van jou situasie te lees! SASydneysider is 'n ex RSA-ner wat eers in NZ en nou in Aus bly - dalk kan sy jou meer info oor jou opsies gee. Jy kan haar PM - of dalk lees sy hier en antwoord jou vrae sommer hier. Sterkte - dit is nie maklik nie, en my hart gaan uit na julle almal.

[Guest Seoul Sister]

Hi there Tukino,

Welcome to the forum. I am sorry to hear about your situation and I am sure you will be able to find a workable solution. You have come to the right place and you will soon find answers and support right here. You need to read a booklet published by the New Zealand Government called - Thinking about living in Australia, the changes New Zealanders need to know about :

http://www.rcsa.com.au/documents/brochures/living.pdf

The following answers were also provided with regard to similar questions :

Will I still be able to travel freely to Australia as I can at the moment? Will my passport be stamped whenever I enter Australia?

New Zealanders will continue to have the freedom to travel or move to Australia at any time to live and work. New Zealanders entering Australia will have a port and date stamp in their passport and have their entry to Australia as Special Category Visa (SCV) holders recorded electronically, as they do now.

Will I still be able to go to Australia to live and work? Will I need a work permit or a visa?

If you are a New Zealand citizen who meets health and character criteria you will be free to go to Australia to live and work and will automatically be granted a SCV on arrival in Australia, as is the case now. You will not need to apply to migrate to Australia, nor will you need a work permit or visa. You don’t need to apply for a SCV in advance. If you are not a New Zealand citizen you will have to apply for a visa as you do now.

Will I have to apply for permanent residence status in Australia?

New Zealand citizens who arrive in Australia after 26 May 2001 will need to apply for and be granted permanent residence in Australia (and have lived there for two years) before they are able to access most Australian social security benefits (see page 5). You will be able to count all previous periods of time living in Australia towards the two year waiting period. You won’t need permanent residence status to apply for a benefit or pension that is covered by the existing Social Security Agreement between Australia and New Zealand or, after 1 July 2002, the revised Agreement.

You will not be able to apply for Australian citizenship unless you hold permanent residence status in Australia.

Will I still be able to obtain other government services, such as free education for my children, subsidised health care and subsidised childcare?

In general, yes. You will only be affected if the subsidy was dependent on your being a social security recipient or an Australian citizen.

How to get more information

If you want to know more about how Australia’s residency and citizenship rules might affect social security benefits in Australia you can:

call the NZ to OZ Helpline in Australia toll free on 0800 441 248 Monday to Friday 10.00am to 6.15pm (New Zealand time), or visit

http://www.nz-oz.gov.au

If you want to know more about the current arrangements or how these changes might affect your personal situation you can:

call Work and Income NZ on 0800 777 577 Monday to Friday 8.00am to 5.00pm or, if you’re calling from outside New Zealand, +64-4-916 2437 (international call charges will apply).

You can also write to Work and Income NZ on facsimile +64-4-918 0157 or to PO Box 27 178 Wellington, or send an email to international.affairs@winz.govt.nz

http://www.rcsa.com.au/regions/NZ/social_s...y_questions.asp

Hope this helps a little.

Kind Regards

Seoul Sister

[SASydneysider]

Hi Tukino,

I can understand exactly where you are coming from. The weather in Auckland drove me up the wall. I just couldn't handle the grey darkness and rain around me day in and day out.

After living in Auckland for 3.5 years, we moved to Sydney and I haven't regretted it for one moment.

Here are some answers to your questions:

a As NZ citizens, you are allowed to live and work in Australia indefinitely without a visa.

b We don't have any school going children so I'm not sure how this works. I don't think there would be issues here. The children should be able to attend schooling the same an Aussie kid does and it shouldn't cost you anything more than what Aussie parents pay.

c As a Kiwi citizen you qualify to belong to the state medical scheme which is Medicare. You do not need to get PR first.

d - If you eventually want to become and Aussie citizen, you will have to apply on the same basis as anyone else.

- There are certain state benefits you will not qualify for as a Kiwi citizen. I'm not sure what these all are, but I think it is state pension, social welfare.

If there is anything else I can help with, please let me know.

SAS

[Ziggy]

Thank you so much for your help and assistance. I appreciate it. Have a nice day.

[Queensland Girl]

Good Morning Tukino.

I am really sad for you that your "plekkie in die son" did not work out. SA has changed tremendously,and I am sure will take some getting used to.

I was born in Bloemfontein allthough I grew up in Pretoria. On my aussie passport Birthplace is Good ol' Bloemfontein! my Grandma had a farm in Reddersburg where I spent many a holiday so I can appreciate the weather.

I live on the Gold Coast and we are happy here. The weather is wonderful for 9 months of the year, but Dec-Feb is very hot and humid. Not fun but bearable. Our winters are mild and pleasant. It is a good place to live .

[chatterbug]

Hi Tukino

Welcome here! I hope this forum will become a welcome "home" for you in the meantime, until you decide what to do!

Although you have done it the hard way at least you have had the opportunity to sort things out for yourself in terms of where to settle. We all learn and perceive things in a different way! As I say to many people we often long for the dream or the nostalgic idea of South Africa in our heads/minds, but in actual fact, things have moved on in SA and it will and cannot be the same as we remember it. Over time we tend to only remember the good ol' days and the daily realities of living in SA tend to fade.

A good analogy for me is that for example I only tend remember the good things of my military days and even start picturing and remembering my bad experiences with gilded "nostalgic" edges! It's cool to remember it like this but, I'd never like to go back to that again.

At least you posting here might provide answers or even something to consider to others who are feeling homesick and are considering the move back. That being said it does not mean that all who are going back are doing it for the wrong reasons. I think "family - reasons" is a very real consideration and I can understand this dilemma. We, for one, certainly underestimated the affect of this dimension of the immigration reality.

Anyway I wanted to give you some feedback on Brisbane - please see some of my ( and others like Jules, Rialet, Queensland girl, Larry, etc.) previous postings on living in Brisbane.

Here goes:

http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php?showt...5044entry5044

http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php?act=S...findpost&p=5028

http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php?act=S...findpost&p=2865

If you need more or want to ask any other questions please PM me or I'll answer on the forum for the benefit of others!

Lekkerbly en starkte

BrisVegas BUG

[Ajay]

Hi Tukino,

Your posting really touched my heart - thank you for having the courage to write about what must surely be an intensely difficult personal situation. My heart goes out to you.

Many of our members here will be able to offer you sound advice regarding the legalities of your move to Australia and I see that this is already happening. This on-line community of ours is an amazingly helpful, generous and supportive bunch, so I am really glad that you found us.

I sensed some feelings of guilt in your note, and I really wanted to let you know that you have abolsutely nothing to feel guilty about. I know that these are easy words to say, but quite difficult to implement, but it is so important for you to realise that you have only ever done what you thought was right for your family and children. I am quite sure that when you made your decision to return to SA, it wasn't done to put anyone in danger or to risk the futures of your kids - your intentions were pure and you were trying to give them the carefree and happy upbringing that you had as a child in South Africa. You had no way of knowing how much things had changed and how different it would be.

Whatever your decision for your future is, I know that it will be made with love and in the best interests of your family. I also understand how much you are beating yourself up about uprooting the kids again - but they will get over it. They are resiliant little people! My 10 year old son is struggling with homesickness and some depression at the moment (we have been here for 8 months), and even though it breaks my heart to see him unhappy sometimes, I know that I would rather have that and get him the help that he needs with it, than the alternative of risking his very life back in Johannesburg. Your daughter may scream that she hates you if you tell her about the move, but again, rather that she is able to scream than to have her voice silenced forever by some lunatic with a gun that wants her cell phone. Keep on loving and supporting her and in time, she will come to realise the huge sacrifices that you have made for her and her brother. I know this with every fibre of my being.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and I hope you find a solution that brings you peace and happiness for the years ahead.

With love

Ajay

[Mara]

Hi Tukino

We also came the NZ route and have lived in Melbourne Australia for nine years now.

I agree with the others that you do not need anything else except your NZ passport to enable you to live and work in Australia. The only time that you have to get permanent residence officially is

a. If you wish to sponsor somebody to live and work in Australia

b. You wish to apply for certain benefits

c. You wish to apply for Australian Citizenship.

Go to the following website, it will explain it all to you, in a nutshell.

http://www.immi.gov.au/facts/17nz.htm

Good luck, if there is anything else, please shout!

[Ziggy]

This is a great forum!!! Thank you all for replying, posting links, PM’s and phone calls. We appreciate it a lot. Although the decision is not easy to leave again, I think that this time we hopefully have the means to get first hand information about where we want to settle in the future. I think the only people smiling so far is the removal companies… I was of the opinion to sell everything at this time and start afresh. Any pros and cons?

[Ajay]

Hi again,

Hmmm - pro's and con's - there are dozens for each side of the argument. There are a few other threads on the forum that deal with this and similar issues, so try a search as well.

I think the decision is a personal one and is dependant on so many factors (including your financial status, your sentimentality, your aversion to risk ) that there is no real right answer. We sold up practically everything and really only shipped over our personal things and those of sentimental value, a lounge suite and a home theatre system. We bought most things here. It was an expensive route, but a lot of my stuff in SA needed replacing anyway, and I thought I'd rather take the opportunity and buy new in Aus. If your stuff is still in good shape though, then it would certainly be cheaper to ship it over. I can't speak for the rest of Oz, but Sydney is bl**dy expensive!

Good luck with it all Tukino!

Love

Ajay

[chatterbug]

Hi Tukino,

Oor die meubels ding - mmm moeilik - kyk maar ook op die forum rond daar is 'n paar ander wat ook al hieroor gevra het, dan kry jy meer opinies. Vir my was dit redelik maklik. Ons het 'n vol huishouding gehad wat ons redelik onlangs bekom het, soos bv "whitegoods" en elektroniese toebehore en houtmeubels. So die goed het nog baie jare se "go" in hulle gehad. Ek wou geldspaar hierdeur, want alhoewel die trek +- R30 000 gekos het (2,5 jaar gelede - 20vt container) sou ek dit nie kon vervang met my rande ge-convert tot Aus $ nie. Sou te veel gekos het en ek wou my geld spaar vir ander meer belangrike dinge.

Jy noem egter emosies as 'n faktor, wel miskien dan ja - maar ek sou probeer om emosie hieruit te hou en meer prakties daaroor te dink. Niks stop jou om jou goed vir 'n ruk te stoor totdat jy weet waar julle gaan bly nie. Jy kan altyd later wanneer jy gesettle is in 'n job nuwe goed begin koop, soos jy Aus $'s begin verdien. Dan weer miskien het jy genoeg geld en is bg glad nie 'n faktor nie.

ek hoop dit help.

c'BUG

[Ziggy]

Hi there

I just want to say thanks to everybody that assists me over the past couple of weeks.

We just returned after two weeks in the "Kalahari Gemsbok Park" and Namibia. We had a wonderful time and had some time too re-think our whole situation. At this stage we are going to stay a bit longer in SA, to make sure what we as a family wants to do.

[Ajay]

Hi Tukino,

Good news that you've agreed on a path forward and that the whole family is involved in thinking this one through. I hope all goes well!

Love

Ajay

[Queensland Girl]

Good Luck Tukino.

[Guest Jules]

Good luck Tukino!

Good to hear you are all working together on this one and all the best no matter what you decide.

Julie

[chatterbug]

Sterkte met als Tukino, ek wens jou "wysheid" toe met al die dinge waaroor julle moet besluit. Pas julle mooi op in die meantime!

Chatterbug