The Joy of Emigration

More wildlife.

2012-01-02T08:59:00.000Z

Meet the possum who lives in my garage roller door; posing in the apple tree that hangs over our decking.

We hear he/she each night after sunset, as it noisely bounds across the metal parts of the roof and onto the decking.

Sometimes we are treated to a possum chorus, as all the possums in the area shout to each other, which sounds like (to my ears) a moped being kickstarted.

But his (or her) nickname 'Pooey' comes from the amount of droppings left across every surface at the back of the house. For a small animal you would never believe the amount of poo it produces.

I have visions of having a Caddyshack style war with them. But I am in rental and am well aware I'd loose. Besides, it is apparently illegal kill, or even to move a possum far enough from your house that it couldn't find its way back.

I must confess feeding them the occasional apple from my hands doesn't help my situation. Can't help it - for all the mess, they seem so cute!.

The wildlife..

2011-12-29T05:46:00.000Z

Found this handsome looking devil hanging out on the back wall of the house.

Large brown spiders in Australia are apparently less of a worry than the small black ones.

This guy was very big and brown and bit of a shock. Thankfully Huntsmen are virtually harmless (they can however give a nasty nip).

He was gone this morning, so I wonder if he crept into the house and is waiting to surprise us!

Things you don't see in the UK #2 - Australia's Favourite Cheese

2011-12-29T05:40:00.000Z

But apparently it is nothing to get shocked or snigger about. Nor should you consider contacting your member of parliament in disgust. According to the Coon website: "The brand name recognises the work of Edward William coon in developing the 'cooning process' of cheese making".

So there you go, we all learned something. You can read more of the Coon story here.

Small things.. amuse my small mind..

2011-12-29T05:32:00.001Z

As a Christmas present to myself, I recently bought a secondhand chest freezer - I know how to live on the wild side.

There is something about having an electric appliance located in an area that is virtually outdoors. It feels very Australian!

Everybody meet my new refridgeration device.

Things you don't see in the UK #1 - Magpie Swooping Season

2011-09-18T22:03:00.000+01:00

Apparently the magpies of Canberra are aggressive, or at least the males are when it is nesting season. (See the defensive head-gear worn by the cyclist to the left) and amusing article from the Canberra times:

The bush capital's swooping harbingers of spring are upon us and the ACT Government is warning residents to be aware of the black-and-white menace from above.

And while plenty of new magpie warning signs have been erected around nest-worthy suburbs, they weren't enough to save Erica Laurente from one particularly aggressive bird in Palmerston yesterday.

Full newspaper article can be read here at the Canberra Times website.

Geocaching

2011-09-05T00:17:00.004+01:00

A friend of mine recently got me into Geocaching. Put simply, Geocaching is a geeky treasure hunt. Geocachers hide treasure (caches), containing - as a minimum - a paper log so that finders can record their visit. Once the cache has been hidden, the co-ordinates of it's location are published on a website (Geocaching.com) for others to find.

Other Geocachers then use their GPS' (these are surprisingly cheap, alternatively some smartphones can also do the same job) to track down the co-ordinates and find the cache. Amazingly, there are over 500 caches hidden within a 10km radius of my home. Even more amazingly I (unknowlingly) passed by two each day on my walk to and from work. With the aid of my GPS and a good deal of heading scratching and poking about I was able to score my first finds.

The inventiveness of the folk hiding the caches is to be believed. Hidden in fence posts, children's play areas, I even heard of one hidden inside a snail shell.

The next stage was to involve my pre-schooler, as it is a good excuse to spend some time with daddy. I also look less of an idiot on my hands and knees if their is a little one alongside me. Geocachers are mindful of the adult / child connection and the larger caches are used to exchange proper treasure between the kids. At our first find together he was over the moon to swap a plastic soldier for a yo-yo.

It is also a great excuse to go exploring parts of Canberra that I would not otherwise be visiting. Just watch out for muggles!

The day we went to Sydney

2011-08-24T06:02:00.001+01:00

We recently made a tourist trip to Sydney, the intention was to secure some winter sunshine and to see the sights. From Canberra, getting to Sydney presents four choices: Drive, Fly, Bus or train. On the basis that flying the four of us would be prohibitively expensive (nearly $1000AUD in total), our car is a shed and on a colleague's advice that the bus journey was over barren terrain, we chose the train.

Canberra railway station is interesting in that it doesn't sit in the centre of the city, instead it is located in the suburb of Kingston. Despite being nearly 330km away from Sydney effectively Canberra sits at the end of a branch line. Unless you want to visit Sydney or one of the stations in between, you will find yourself being transferred to a coach somewhere in your journey. The station itself, is clean, quite and functional. Unlike railway stations in the UK, we were able to park our car in the car park for free.

The train service between Canberra and Sydney is provided by CountryLink and the journey takes a little over four hours. The price for two adults (the kids were free) travelling in first class, was a very affordable $222AUD for return tickets. As we were going for a long weekend we opted for an early morning train, that arrived into Sydney Central Station at 11am. An unexpected plus of leaving early was the number of kangaroos we passed by close to our windows, even before the train had left the station a startled mob bounced away in clear view. They were a repeated sight until we reach the Glen Alpine and the outskirts of Sydney.

On arrival at Sydney Central station, we took the decision to walk to our hotel - the Circular Quay Marriott - which was at the far end of Pitt Street from the station. After about ten minutes, my son decided he'd walked enough and spent the remainder of the journey on my shoulders. I one the bet of who would see something famous first, when I spied the harbour bridge through the pedestrianised area. At the hotel we paid a supplement of $50AUD for a room on the 28th with a view of the opera house.

Next we decided to explore the Circular Quay itself, at this point I have to say the winter sunshine was not with us! The skies were black and even before we reached the steps of the opera house the wind was driving us back. So we took a few hasty photographs and to make good on a promise to my son, we bought tickets for the Manly ferry.

Had someone explained that that the Manly ferry passed through the heads, where the waves of the Pacific Ocean meet the still waters of the Sydney harbour I would have picked a different destination. The first ten minutes of the crossing went smoothly, then I started to notice security staff appearing on the lower deck - their purpose was to ensure the side doors were closed and that everyone stayed seated. "You won't drown, but you might break a leg if you try and stand up" I heard one say. The next ten minutes lasted a lifetime - during which we were quite literally shaken, rattled and rolled. Everyone went quiet and water sprayed through every gap in the doors. Then just as I thought it might never end the waves subsided and we cruised into Manly Wharf. As we left the boat, I overheard another conversation "Of course it is far worse on the way back".

I am not too much of a man to admit, that I chickened out and point-blank refused to travel back to Circular Quay by ferry. Manly isn't directly linked to the city by train or bus. Luckily, the bus drivers of Sydney are an understanding bunch and as well as making sure there was room for my daughter's pushchair told us where to get off and which was the next bus to get onto and from where. So unexpectedly, we also got to ride over the Harbour Bridge before being deposited a block away from the hotel.

That night, rather than risk the tantrums and tears of our littlies we had a feast brought to us by room service. Which - if a little expensive - was very passable indeed.

The next day, with a hearty buffet breakfast inside us and a warm sun in the sky, we set forth once more to explore, sight see and take photographs. Before slowly making our way back to Central Station to meet our train. For our return journey, we were treated to a carriage almost to ourselves (at no point were there more than four others sharing it with us). We would definitely go by train to Sydney again..

So Where Are You Mate?

2011-06-29T07:05:00.001+01:00

Apologies, for falling silent. A lot was happening in my life around February time.

Our new baby was born into the world.. alongside that we were arranging her Australian Citizenship and Passport.. and alongside that we were packing our lives up ahead of the move to Australia.. and alongside that I was negotiating with my employer about a possible relocation within the company to Canberra.

So, a long story short:

We all flew down in April, Singapore Airlines were excellent in every possible way. They even waived all our excess baggage costs.
We made basecamp at my mother-in-laws in Queensland. The drive north from Brisbane was made more exciting when the TomTom chose unpaved roads.
We bought a 20 year-old Ford Falcon as a run around.
The family stayed in the sunshine, as I came to the Australian Capital Territory to start work and find a more permanent place to live.
Qantas charged me the full amount for my excess baggage (despite the flight be empty) and then lost my bags.
I found a house, the family all drove down in the Falcon (22 hours of "Are we nearly there yet?").
Thus far, we're all living happily every after in the winter sunshine. But by crikey, everything here feels so expensive.

More updates and observations from around Canberra to follow!

Super fast turn around time by Australia House

2011-02-19T10:43:00.000Z

This week - and for the second time - I went through the process of registering my child as a Citizen of Australia by descent of her mother. The forms, birth certificates, fees and SAE were posted off on Tuesday (15th February) by Special Delivery.

When we received the SAE back today (19th February), I thought it must be a sign that I'd filled the form out incorrectly. But no - with a four day turn around - my daughter is now proudly an Australian citizen.

You can read about the full application process in my earlier post :: Here!

Fact Sheet 21 - Managing the Migration Program

2011-02-04T10:28:00.006Z

Fact Sheet 21 is of interest to anyone waiting on a Child or Partner visa. Chances are if you get fed up of hanging around and poke at your Case Officer, you'll get told something along the lines "We're working as fast as we can within the quota limits set down by the Australia Government". Which if you look at the facts isn't (or shouldn't be) true :

Family Stream

Partner category visas:

Partner (subclasses 309/100 and 820/801) visas cannot be capped.
Prospective Marriage (fiancé) (subclass 300) visas may be subject to capping.

Child category visas:

Child (subclasses 101 and 802) visas, Dependent Child (subclass 445) visa, Orphan Relative (subclasses 117 and 837) visa and Adoption (subclass 102) visas cannot be capped.

Source :: Australian Immigration Fact Sheet 21

Routes to PR

2011-02-01T10:27:00.002Z

In case this is of use to anyone, I copied this chart from a magazine. It lists most of the basic visa routes to Australian Permanent Residency:

Click the image to see a High-Res (legible copy).

Hope this will be of use to somebody.

Another Useful Email from Australia House

2011-01-13T12:29:00.002Z

I thought I'd see if Australia House had updated the useful email that they used to send out to people enquiring about partner visas, so I made a new request to them myself. Here is what they sent me:

Dear Zultan,

Thank you for your enquiry.

If you can demonstrate you have lived with your partner for a period of at least 12 months, then you might like to consider the Partner Visa in which your partner would sponsor you to migrate to Australia.

Please see information below.

Partner Visa

General Information

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) specifies that non-Australian citizens travelling to Australia are required to enter on a visa for their intended purpose and length of stay. Therefore, if you are intending to move to Australia and live there permanently, you must obtain the appropriate migration visa before you go.

There are two (2) categories of partner visas. These are:

· Partner Visa

· Prospective Marriage Visa (fiancé(e))

Partners of Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens may apply to enter and/or remain permanently in Australia. Partners include:

· People intending to get married

· Married (de jure) partners

· De facto partners including Same sex couples

Partner Temporary Visa (Subclass 309) and Permanent Visa (Subclass 100)

This visa is designed for people from overseas to permit entry and stay in Australia with their partner, who must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. Your application will be assessed against both the Temporary Partner Visa (subclass 309) and Permanent Partner Visa (subclass 100) criteria. To be eligible for the Permanent Partner Visa you must demonstrate that you have been in either a spousal or De facto relationship with your partner for at least 3 years or at least two years with a dependent child of the relationship. If you do not meet the requirements for the Permanent Partner Visa, you will be assessed against the Provisional Partner Visa, where you must have been in a de facto relationship with your partner for the entire 12 months immediately before you lodge your application. However, this requirement may be waived if compelling and compassionate circumstances apply such as for example, you have children from your relationship. De facto partners who have registered their relationship under a prescribed state or territory law are exempt from the 12 month relationship requirement. If you are granted a Partner Provisional Visa you may be awarded a Permanent Partner Visa approximately two years later, provided you are still in the relationship with your sponsoring partner.

For the purposes of permanent residency in Australia; the term 'Spouse' refers to married opposite sex couples, the term ‘De facto’ refers to couples in a committed relationship including same sex couples.

A married spouse must be legally married under Australian law. Generally, if the marriage is valid in the country in which it was performed, it will be recognised as valid under Australian law. There are some exceptions whereby the marriage will not be recognised, such as same-sex, under-age or polygamous marriages. If you are married but for some reason the marriage is not valid in Australia, your partner may still be considered a de facto partner and therefore can apply for a Partner visa.

Prospective Marriage Visa (Subclass 300)

This visa is designed for people from overseas to enter Australia, then marry their fiancé(e). Their fiancé(e) must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. Once married, holders of this visa can then apply to remain permanently in Australia.

If you plan to marry your fiancé who is outside Australia, your fiancé can apply for a temporary visa that remains valid for nine (9) months from the date of grant.

Your fiancé must lodge the Prospective Marriage visa application outside Australia and also must be outside Australia at time of visa grant. If granted a Prospective Marriage visa, your fiancé must then travel to Australia within the nine (9) month visa validity period, legally marry you within that period and then apply in Australia to remain permanently as a spouse.

It is not possible to extend the Prospective Marriage visa if the marriage does not take place during the required time period or an application to remain permanently in Australia as a spouse is not lodged.

Note: It is a requirement of a Prospective Marriage visa that you and your fiancé have met and be known to each other in person.

Procedure

The applicant completes Form 47SP, Application for migration to Australia by a partner, and the sponsor completes Form 40SP, Sponsorship for a partner to migrate to Australia.

Form 47SP: http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/47sp.pdf

Application for migration to Australia by a partner

Form 40SP: http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/40sp.pdf

Sponsorship for a partner to migrate to Australia

If the applicant has any dependent children under the age of 18 they may add them as a dependant on this visa. If this is the case there will be a requirement for the Australian sponsor to obtain an Australian National Police Check. An Australian National Police Check may be obtained from the Australian Federal Police. Information on obtaining the check is available from the AFP website.

www.afp.gov.au/business/national_police_checks

In addition, if the applicant has any dependent children or other dependent relatives who are aged 18 years or over, they must ensure that Form 47A, Details of child or other dependent family member aged 18 years or over, is also completed and lodged along with above two (2) forms. Form 47A must be completed for each dependent child and other dependent relatives aged 18 years or over, whether or not they are migrating with the applicant.

Form 47A: http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/47a.pdf

Details of child or other dependent family member aged 18 years or over

Post the completed forms to the London office using Special Delivery and enclose another self-addressed Special Delivery envelope for the return of the documents. The visa application charge of £1130 and relevant supporting documents need to be included with the application.

The average processing time is approximately five (5) to six (6) months; however timeframes will vary with each individual application. You will be contacted by your Case Officer who may request further information within 10 working days, at which point you may discuss the processing times for your application.

It is not always possible to anticipate the processing time in advance. Issues can and do arise in the course of processing applications, which must be resolved before a decision about granting your visa can be made. Each application is considered on its own merits and against legal and policy requirements.

Resources to Assist you with your Application

Department of Immigration and Citizenship Website:

http://www.immi.gov.au/

Partner Visa Categories:

http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/family/partner-outside.htm

Fact Sheet 30 – Family Stream Migration – Partner:

http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/30partners.htm

Fact Sheet 35 – One-Year Relationship Requirement:

http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/35relationship.htm

Health Requirement for Permanent Entry to Australia:

http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/booklets/1071i.pdf

Character Requirements:

http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/character-requirements/character-penal.pdf

Information Booklet 1 Partner Migration and associated forms:

http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/booklets/books1.htm

Take the time to read the online information Booklet 1 on Partner Migration thoroughly and document your claims properly. Good preparation will allow you to present your case well.

Partner Migration Checklist:

You will find application checklists for a Partner Visa or Prospective Marriage Visa through the following two website links respectively. These checklists are a guide to what is required to submit with your application. If the Case Officer processing your application requires further information to make their decision about whether or not the visa can be approved, he or she will request further information from you before making their final decision.

http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/partners/partner/309-100/how-to-apply.htm

http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/partners/prospective/300/how-to-apply.htm

Travel while your Visa is being Processed

If you decide to lodge a Partner Migration visa application and want to visit Australia for a short tourist trip while your application is being processed, you will need to discuss the trip with the case officer processing your Partner Migration application before travelling. It is suggested you do not finalise any travel plans to Australia before discussing the issue with your case officer.

It is not intended that a Partner Visa applicant waits out the processing of the Partner Migration Visa in Australia on a Tourist Visa or Electronic Travel Authority (ETA). If you enter Australia on a one way ticket you may be asked by Australian immigration authorities, on arrival at the airport, as to what your plans for departing Australia are. If entering on Australia on an ETA or Tourist visa the immigration officer will need to be satisfied that you are a genuine visitor. You are or your partner would need to explain your intentions to the officer so that the officer is satisfied that you do not intend to stay beyond the period which your visa allows.

Waiver of 12-Month Relationship Requirement

If parties are not co-habiting, all of the circumstances of the relationship are taken into consideration and a higher level of proof of the existence of a partner relationship may be required. It is to be accepted that parties to an on-going relationship may be temporarily separated, for example; frequent travel for business reasons or an unexpected family emergency.

The 12-month relationship requirement may also be waived if you can prove that there are compelling and compassionate circumstances, such as; that co-habitation was not permissible under the law of the country where you resided for 12 months previously.

Generally, you will need to demonstrate that you have been in a 12 month de-facto relationship if applying for a partner visa on the basis that you are not married. The 12-month relationship requirement at the time the application was lodged may be waived if you can establish that there are compelling and compassionate circumstances. For example; you have children with your partner.

If you feel that there are circumstances that may warrant a waiver of the 12-month requirement, you should provide a statement with your application that explains the reason for your request. The decision on whether this 12-month requirement can be waived will be up to the case officer assessing your application.

Please refer to Fact Sheet 35 through the website link below for further information on the 12-month relationship requirement:

http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/35relationship.htm

Not Migrating Straight Away

It is acceptable to apply for a Partner Visa even if you may not intend to reside in Australia immediately after the visa has been approved. If this is your intention, you should make this clear in the application. You may still be required to provide an Australian contact address.

Please note if you apply for a Partner Visa, and the visa application is approved, there will be a condition attached to the visa that you must make an entry to Australia by a specific date in order to activate the visa. If you do not enter Australia by that date, the visa will become subject to cancellation. The date of entry is usually 12 months from the date that you complete the medical examination and police checks (whichever expires first) for the visa application. As long as you make the entry to Australia by the date specified on the visa, you will be free to travel back and forth to Australia as you please within the validity period of the visa.

If you are approved for the Provisional Partner Visa, it will remain valid until a decision is made on whether you qualify for the Permanent Partner Visa which is assessed approximately two (2) years after the date of your initial application for a Partner Visa. You can be outside Australia at the point in time when a decision is made about the Permanent Partner Visa. If approved, the Permanent Partner Visa is usually granted for a period of five years and allows the visa holder to travel back and forth between Australia during that validity period. At this stage you would be considered to be a permanent resident of Australia.

The below website refers to the information about the residency requirements of Australian permanent residents wishing to return to Australia. Meeting the residency requirements for a Resident Return Visa (RRV) (Subclass 155) in future years could become difficult if you intend to live outside of Australia for several years once you are an Australian permanent resident.

http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/residents/

If you are approved for the Provisional Partner Visa, your file will be transferred to ACT Regional Office. Your file will remain at that office unless you notify the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) of your new address. Two (2) years after the date of your initial application for a Partner Visa, a DIAC officer will send you a letter requesting you to provide further evidence that you are still in a relationship with the person that sponsored you for your initial Partner Visa. You will then need to send in the evidence requested so that the DIAC officer can make a decision about whether you qualify for the Permanent Partner Visa. Your Provisional Partner Visa will remain valid until a decision is made on whether you qualify for the Permanent Partner Visa. You can be outside Australia at the point in time when a decision is made about your Permanent Partner Visa.

Sponsorship Undertaking

There is no specific format for the statement you will provide explaining how your sponsor will meet sponsorship obligations including how you intend to support yourselves once you arrive in Australia. Your sponsor will need to sign a sponsorship undertaking at the end of the Form 40SP Sponsorship for a Partner to Migrate to Australia. This legally binds your sponsor to the sponsorship obligations.

The Case Officer assessing your visa application will consider all the information you provide and decide whether your partner can meet the sponsorship obligations. If the Case Officer deems that your partner will not be able to meet their sponsorship obligations, the Case Officer may request an Assurance of Support. You can find more information about an Assurance of Support in the Partner Migration Booklet. You do not need to provide an Assurance of Support when you submit your visa application. The visa officer assessing your application will request this from you if it is required.

Usually Resident

An Australian permanent resident is defined in Australian Migration regulations as a non citizen who, being usually resident in Australia is the holder of a permanent visa.

'Usually resident' is not defined in migration legislation, although the policy intent was for it to provide a test of the sponsors commitment to Australia and capacity to support the applicant. As a matter of policy, we usually support a generous interpretation, particularly given the increasing impact globalisation has on where people choose temporarily to live and work. Therefore in the absence of periods of long term residence in Australia, weight may be accorded to a person’s 'firm intention to reside' in Australia.

Medicals in Advance of Lodgement

You can choose to complete your medical assessment before or after lodging your application. However, the decision remains at your discretion. The costs of medicals are not refunded if your application is unsuccessful.

Another factor to consider is that health assessments and police clearances are only valid for 12 months, and should a visa be granted, you will be required to enter Australia before either of the clearances expire. If you have a planned entry date, you will need to consider the timing of the clearances.

For a list of panel doctors please select your country of residence at the following web link:

http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/panel-doctors/

Statutory Form 888

It is not a requirement that the people completing statutory declarations attesting to your relationship are in Australia. Friends and family in the UK or Ireland can also make statutory declarations about your relationship.

Family and friends in the UK or Ireland can use Form 888 as a guide to the statements they make. However, if they use Form 888 and sign it in the UK or Ireland, it will not legally bind them to the statement they make because Form 888 is only legally binding under Australia law.

Your family and friends can make statutory declarations, affidavits or another appropriate declaration that will legally bind them to their statement i.e. legally binds them under British / Irish law.

The following people in the UK and Ireland can certify documents for Australian visas:

Australian Terminology	UK	IRELAND
Practising lawyer	Solicitor	Solicitor
Magistrate	Magistrate	N/A
Public notary	Notary Public	Notary Public
Justice of the Peace	Justice of the Peace	N/A
Commissioner of Declaration	Commissioner for Oaths	Commissioner for Oaths
Position/agency recognised by the law of country to certify documents	Officer of a Court appointed by a Judge to take affidavits	Peace Commissioner

Please note:

• In Scotland a Councillor may also certify documents.

• A Registered Migration Agent may certify copies of original documents for visa applications they make on behalf of clients.

Automatic Permanent Residence

When you apply for a Partner Visa, you simply need to submit the Partner Visa application and then the Case Officer will decide whether you qualify for the Provisional Partner Visa (Subclass 309) or Permanent Partner Visa (Subclass 100).

Whether or not you qualify for permanent residence status straight away can only be determined by the Case Officer processing your application once they have assessed all the evidence and documentation provided with the application. If your visa application is successful but you do not qualify for permanent residence straight away, you will be granted temporary residence and after two (2) years will be contacted by a Case Officer with regards to changing your status to permanent residence if the relationship is ongoing.

UK Police Certificates

To obtain a UK Police Certificate, applicants need to contact the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). These certificates cover applicants who have lived or currently reside in England, Wales, Scotland, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland.

Application forms and guidance on how to apply for the new police certificates can be located online at: www.acpo.police.uk

For information on obtaining a Penal Clearance from other countries please see the form relating to Character Requirements and Penal Clearance Certificates:

http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/character-requirements/

Relationship breakdown

If the relationship between you and your partner irretrievably breaks down, this constitutes an important change in your circumstances. The applicant is legally obliged to notify the department immediately of the change in circumstances.

There are some provisions where it may be possible for you to remain in Australia, provided all other relevant visa criteria are met. The provisions are as follows:

· you have parental responsibility for at least one (1) child who is a child of the relationship. This should be evidenced by a Statutory Declaration from both parents, or consent order, or a parenting order. Where you wish to demonstrate parental responsibility for a step-child, you must have a court order which recognises your responsibility for that child, or

· your relationship has ceased because your partner has died.

· Should family violence be a reason for the relationship breakdown, you may still be eligible to be granted a permanent partner visa and to remain in Australia.

· Applying for a Partner Visa Offshore

Please note:

** FEE INCREASES ARE DUE ON THE 1ST OF JANUARY DUE TO A RE-CALCULATION OF EXCHANGE RATES - PLEASE SEE THE HIGH COMMISSION WEBSITE FOR MORE INFORMATION **

-The advice you are given by the London Contact Centre will be based on the information you supply.
-We cannot advise clients on the likely outcome of any visa application, as applications are assessed on an individual basis.
-The Department of Immigration and Citizenship Strongly recommends that clients do not make any irreversible travel bookings until they have been granted an appropriate visa.

If you would like help finding the right Australian visa, please visit the Visa Wizard website: http://www.immi.gov.au/visawizard
We hope this information has been of assistance.

Yours faithfully,

London Service Centre

Migration Branch
Australian High Commission
Strand London WC2B 4LA

DIAC website: www.immi.gov.au

London website: www.uk.embassy.gov.au

600850

Telephone Information Service: 09065 508 900
£1 per minute currently, £1.02 per minute from 04 Jan 2011 (in line with VAT increase) from BT telephone lines, other provider charges may vary. Access to an operator is provided at the end of recorded information between the hours of 9am and 4pm London time, Monday to Friday except on public holidays and Australian High Commission holidays for which is shown on the website: www.uk.embassy.gov.au)

DIAC Privacy Policy: www.immi.gov.au/functional/privacy.htm

Book - Living and Working in Australia

2011-01-12T10:20:00.003Z

I'm still in limbo-land waiting for exciting news. Which I'll share with you once I have it. Meantime - just to test if anyone reads this blog - I'll send a free copy of "Living and Working in Australia: A Survival Guide" to the first (and only the first!) person to email me at :: NOW GONE (don't worry there's no need to send any of your details to me, until I confirm that you were the first).

~~No catch, free book, free postage, you just got to be first!~~

Book now on its way....

Happy New Year..

2011-01-01T22:20:00.000Z

to one and both of you.. Only 16 weeks to the day until we make the big move. I promise I'll have something interesting to write about between now and then. Take care and on with the January detox.

The best travel guide you will ever read about Australia

2010-12-12T13:46:00.001Z

Thanks to Bitterwallet for posting a link to this travel guide for Australia, that apparently fell out of a magazine supplement. The city descriptions need to be read to be believed (click the image for a larger copy) ::

Validation Trip - Part 2 - Getting in to Australia

2010-11-29T12:28:00.000Z

So, what happened after I got off the plane? (Which incidentally landed into Brisbane forty minutes early). It was a reasonably short walk to immigration, where without any queue I handed my landing card to the officer - for the first time with the "Yes, I have a criminal record" box ticked. With no mention of my trip plans or visa, he told me that I would have to be referred because of my character issues.

Here we go! I thought, but the lady that dealt with me was lovely. She took a photocopy of my landing card and asked for brief details of my criminal record, which she noted on her photocopy. When she asked about any previous visits to Australia, I decided to come clean and admit that my criminal record was previously not declared. "I don't want to hear" was her reply and she waved me through to the baggage reclaim.

Baggage reclaim was also painless, my bags were neither first nor last onto the belt. I did notice that another plane landed whilst I was waiting and I thought I would likely be competing with the new arrivals in the queue for customs. Luckily, this feeling didn't bear fruit and having ticked the "Items to Declare" box I was directed to have the contents of my suitcases inspected.

Sadly, the Border Security "Nothing to Declare" film crew were nowhere to be seen and my chance for TV was lost. Again the officer who dealt with me was a really nice guy, he didn't bat and eyelid at the amount of baby clothes, documents and old photos I was carrying. Happily neither the wooden duck nor the Harrod's Flap Jack tin that I was carrying (as a gift for my mother-in-law) were considered a risk to Australia's flora and forna. So with everything hastily stuffed back into my suitcases I passed bleary eyed through the sliding doors into Australia proper.

Validation Trip - Part 1 - Getting to Australia

2010-11-12T13:47:00.011Z

Well I'm back from my partner visa validation trip to Australia - and what did I learn? For one, I have to agree with Richard & Judy when they said that "The Girl wth the Dragon tattoo" is a difficult book to get into. I'm a 150 pages in and still not drawn into the plot..

Having arrived at Heathrow on a National Express coach, I set about trying to unburden myself from my luggage and get to the departure lounge.

The Singapore Airlines check-in area was easy enough to find within Terminal 3, but there was a long line of people waiting to drop-off bags at the 'Online Check-in' desk. Having checked-in online and printed my boarding card at home (and not wanting to queue unless I really had to!), I decided to plead ignorance and went straight to an Economy desk.

Everything was going well, right up until the moment when the agent dealing with me said "Sorry, you're not entitled to 40kgs baggage - as you have a return ticket". Having checked and double checked this fact with the Singapore Airlines contact centre, I was ready for a fight. Luckily, I'd brought a copy of an email I'd been sent by customer services - which the agent took away to discuss with her supervisor. Two minutes later, she apologised and checked my bags in. Unexpectedly each bag was also 2kgs overweight, but it didn't cause me a further problem.

On to the plane itself, people make a big fuss about the Airbus A380 or 'Super-Jumbo'. Personally, from an economy seat perspective things were largely the same as any other wide-bodied aircraft. In fact Singapore Airlines have the same seats and entertainment systems across their entire 747, 777, A330 and A380 fleet. The only differences I could spot were: 1. The A380 has an upstairs economy cabin, which is less crowded with the seats in a 2-4-2 formation and 2. In the upstairs economy cabin, there is an additional storage bin at seat level alongside the window seats (large enough to hold a laptop or to stuff the pillow and blanket into) and 3. The connectors that allow you to plug your iPod into the entertainment system are slightly different (the standard Apple AV cable will still work on both, but on the A380 you need to use your iPod headphones for audio). All the Singapore Airlines aircraft use the twin mono style of headphone socket, so if you want to listen through your own earphones you'll need to bring an adapter with you (how I was mocked for buying a couple of these "just in case"). Being a double decker, you also have the option of going up and down the stairs to use the toilet - a novelty in itself.

As for the in-flight experience, Singapore Airlines and the Singapore Girls cast a shadow over every other airline I've flown with. Even in economy the service at all times was attentive. A menu was distributed soon after take-off and generally for each main meal three choices were offered (a balance of Western and Asian food). Hot towels were distributed before each food service and drinks were regularly refilled. More than once, fellow passengers were offered alternate meals when it was noticed that their first selection had gone un-eaten.

And as for how they dealt with families travelling with infants and small children? They were just amazing. Older children were treated as having special dietary requirements and served their meals first. Parents with babies were asked which parent should be fed first (so that one could remain in charge of the baby and the other could eat unmolested). For the babies, multiple choices of jarred baby foods were provided - as were nappies. Compare this, to BA, who don't even offer a meal to kids under the age of two travelling without their own seat (nor did they offer any assistance to my partner when she was travelling alone with our baby).

Krisworld - the name given to to the Singapore Airlines back of seat entertainment system - offers more films and TV shows on demand, than you'll be able to watch - even when you add the hours spent sat in your seat on the four legs of a return trip to Australia. For music there is a wide selection of radio and audio CDs to choose from. I especially liked the ability to create a playlist of tracks from the many CDs on offer. It also offers a selection of games, airport information and flight-path map. Speaking of the map, my inner child sniggered when the Japanese city of Fukuoka was displayed.

I'd like to say that I arrived refreshed and rested into Singapore, but I'm not sure if that can ever be true after twelve and a half hours in a cramped economy seat? All I can say is it was a relief to land and we exited the plane without delay. Although another quirk of the Singapore Airlines experience is that the curtains that divide the cabins are kept closed, until the premium passengers have departed. So for a few minutes, you're left wondering if the doors have been opened.

Once in the Changi airport transit lounge, I only had time to change into a pair of shorts, get some Duty-Free and drink a quick coffee before needing to join the queue for security ahead of my departure to Brisbane. I was almost nearly tempted to by an iPad, at over a £100 less than the equivalent UK prices! (I would have had difficulty explaining it away to my partner, so thought better of it).

Having done the long leg from the UK, it was a pleasure to hear that with a favourable tail wind our flight time would be reduced to less than seven hours. Again - after take-off - menu cards were distributed and the service matched what I had received on the A380. Apart from a few bumps of turbulence over the Northern Territory the rest of this part of the journey passed unremarkably.
...to be continued....coming soon - Part 2 - Arrivals and my week in Oz...

Getting from Agnes Water back to Brisbane Airport

2010-10-18T12:06:00.012+01:00

With less than two weeks away from my validation trip to Australia, I've started to think about the finer logistical points of the journey.

Q. How I'm going to get to Heathrow?
A. I'm travelling alone, so the cheapest easiest option is for me to try out the services of National Express coaches for a knockdown price of £19.90.

Another alternative (other than to ask the better half to drive me) which wouldn't have been too costly is the First Great Western RailAir link. However, it would have required me to negotiate between the railway platform and coach station at Reading, with 40Kgs of my partner's most treasured possessions and my own over stuffed rucksack of hand luggage.

Q. How do I get from Brisbane Airport to my mother-in-laws in Agnes Water, QLD - nearly 500km (310 miles) away?
A. This one was made easier; the m-in-law has offered to collect me.

Q. How do I get back from the m-in-laws to Brisbane Airport?
A. This is a little trickier. Having had her perform the six hundred mile round trip for me once, I couldn't very well ask her to do the same thing again - less than a week later.

So, I started to look at the option of hire cars from Bundaberg. The quote I received - for an eight hour car rental - left me stunned. To give you context: I can collect a car from Heathrow and drive it to Swindon, for less than £40 plus petrol.

A one-way journey from Avis Bundaberg to Avis Brisbane airport was priced at $236AUD, with mileage charges and petrol to be added on top. At today's exchange rate, that's nearly an eye watering £150 before I'd started the ignition.

At that price, I'd want to be offered a Mercedes or be allowed to keep part of the car. But no, this was for a Hyundai Getz - hardly premium transport.

Another option - suggested to me, was the high-speed Tilt Train, leaving Miriam Vale it promised to get me to Brisbane central station for a more reasonable $80AUD. That said, the quoted journey time was a less than high-speed five hours. Un-burdened from my partner's heavy bags (left for safe keeping with her mother) it would be easy to hop onto the Airtrain ($15AUD) to get me to the airport.

Lastly, I considered flying as a possibility. The absolute cheapest option I found was with Tiger Airways, from Rockhampton. Their price was $24AUD - by far this made planes, cheaper than trains or automobiles - but would have meant that I would have had to depart from my mother-in-laws at 4am to get the airport and it also would have left me with a fourteen hour wait at Brisbane.

The route I finally selected was a flight with Qantas, from Bundaberg for the grand total of $88AUD (around fifty quid) or less than a third of the total cost of hiring a car and driving myself.

By flying, the journey time is reduced to fifty minutes - so another win. The only area of concern – particularly for my beloved partner - is the aircraft that Qantas operate from Bundaberg airport: the De Havilland DHC-8-400Q. Since the advent of jet engines, her feeling is that propellers have no place in modern propulsion.

Bundaberg airport markets itself as an up-and-coming facility. "More than 50,000 people pass through the terminal annually" their website pronounces. By comparison, Heathrow handles around 183,000 every day of the year!

Brisbane airport is divided between two terminals that are 2km apart, so I'll need to use the previously mentioned Airtrain to transport me between domestic and international terminals. All being well I should only have a few hours between check-in and the first leg of my Singapore Airlines flight back to London.

Once I finally get back to Heathrow, my lady love and son will be waiting to chaffeur me the final miles back home. By then it will be less than six months, before the three of us (plus our currently unborn beautiful baby) are back in Heathrow to make our one-way flights to Australia. This time I have a feeling we won't be flying up to Bundaberg!

Important Milestones

2010-09-13T10:33:00.000+01:00

Four weeks until my current role comes to an end (after 12 years).
Seven weeks until I validate my visa.
Seven months until we all make the move to Australia.
Two weeks until we find out the sex of our baby (and then make his/her flight booking with Singapore Air) and then:
only twenty (or so) weeks to he/she makes an arrival.

Not much from me of late..

2010-08-29T14:15:00.002+01:00

Hi-de-hi Campers!! (That will make more sense to some than others). I don't have a great deal to report. Am sat here today in a hotel room in New York state, having made what is likely to be my final transatlantic business trip for some time to come. Slowly it feels like the stars are starting to align and what was first an idea - to move to Australia - is becoming a reality. In that:

* I have my subclass 100 Defacto Spouse visa
* One-way flights have been booked
* Our families have been notified (one side is happier than the other as you might imagine)
* I have a NAB bank account and have become a whizz at international money transfer
* Things are complicated with my employer (because of its internal structure) but some people know our plans
* The house is starting to look sale/rentable and the mass clearout/ebayfest is ongoing

We have some new challenges. My partner is pregnant. This is awesome news; after two years where we thought our son might be an only child. But the baby is timed to arrive only ten weeks before our flights from the UK. I don't want to tempt fate, but at some point we'll have to tell the airline and understand from Australia House what our chances of obtaining Citizenship and a passport are in that narrow window. Also, my employer is showing signs that it wants to invest some money in bringing my skills back up-to-date. I kind of feel I'm owed, but I don't want to be in a position where I quit a few months later and they try and claw the money back.

Anyhow, thanks for reading and staying in-touch.

Australia: It's a Bloody Big Place!

2010-07-22T10:25:00.000+01:00

Just for a bit of fun, I thought a share a postcard I was once sent - indicating the relative size of Australia:

Enjoying the calm before the storm

2010-07-21T05:51:00.000+01:00

Greetings gentle reader(s). It has been awful quiet from me of late and that's because at this stage in the migration process there has been very little for me to do: Get visa - Tick! Arrange Aussie Bank Account - Tick! Set dates for travel and arrange flights - Tick!

So with April chosen, as the date we're working backwards from it is too early to do more than think about shipping (a process that I'm trying to read up on - watch this space). Somehow I still need to get into a mindset of 'stop buying things!' as they'll only need to be disposed of, packed or shipped. Gradually, we also getting the house together; though still don't have a clue what to do with it. It seems unlikely that we'd get a quick sale without sacrificing the small amount of equity we've accrued.

It is far too early to share my plans with my employer - although according to my calculations I'd be happy to take voluntary (or forced!) redundancy any time after October, as effectively through the pay-out I'd receive the same salary as though I worked right up until March. Once I do tell my employer, there may be an option for international relocation, but I don't hold out hope.

It is funny (and not funny ha-ha) having the visa, in that I now feel somewhat disenfranchised from the people who gave me support during my application and the long wait in the various internet forums that I frequent. I don't know how to explain. Seeing new people join with questions - as they begin the process - and reading those questions being answered by people who once asked me questions makes me feel that my time has passed and I should move on. Peculiar, I know.

To pass the time, I have a stack of new books on my bedside table (a stack as I actually haven't finished reading any of them!). No reviews, but these all come recommended:

"Australia: A Biography of a Nation" by Philip Knightley (A history book!)
"Digger" by Max Anderson (Man gives up job, goes in search of gold in Western Australia)
"In the Land of Oz" by Howard Jacobson (bit like Bill Bryson)

Anyhow, I'll sign off again until I can find something interesting to write about. Take care.

"I've got a golden ticket"! Part 2..

2010-07-02T19:48:00.001+01:00

And here it is, the thing I've been working towards and waiting all this time for: my passport returned to me with a subclass 100 Defacto Partner visa sticker attached to one of the pages, granting me permission to remain in Australia indefinitely..

The turnaround time to send my passport in and get it back was impressive: posted Wednesday, received by Australia House Thursday, back in my possession Friday.

Will be enjoying a few glasses of red wine tonight, maybe the whole bottle!

WAHOO!!

2010-07-01T21:24:00.000+01:00

Just checked the Royal Mail Special Delivery tracking website and already my passport is on its way back to me. Should be back in my possession by 10am tomorrow, can't wait for this chapter to close.

"I've got a golden ticket"!

2010-06-29T10:22:00.002+01:00

Well, the email has finally arrived (after 172 Days or 24 Weeks and 4 Days of nail biting):

Dear Mr Zultan,

I refer to your application for a Partner (Migrant) visa (Class BC). On
the basis of your sponsorship by Mrs Zultan, I am pleased to
advise that you have been granted a subclass 100 visa.

I note that for the first time during the application my Case Officer sent the email to my agent and not to me. I must have upset her when I pesterered her directly last week as she sent me a stock standard response:

For the 2009-10 program year the Government has allocated 60,300 places in
the Family Stream (including 45,000 places for Partner visas, reflecting
their high priority). The planning levels for each visa category within
the Family Stream reflect the priorities allocated to these categories.
The Department has a responsibility to ensure that the numbers of visas
granted overall and within each visa category are in accordance with the
agreed planning levels. As a visa category approaches it's planning level,
this means that some cases may not be finalised as quickly as our clients
or the Department would want. We have a responsibility to ensure that visa
grants within the Family Stream reflect the priorities set by the
Government and we will manage this in the most fair and reasonable way
possible.

I appreciate that you would like to have your application finalised. I
thank you for your patience and wish to assure you that every effort is
being made to finalise your application as soon as it is possible to do so.

Which sent me away with my tail betwen my legs. So here is the time line of my visa application:

Application Submitted - 07/01/10
Payment taken - 12/01/10
CO Assigned, Medical and Police Certs requested - 14/01/10
Police Cert sent via Special Delivery - 26/01/10
Medical completed - 05/02/10
Medical results sent by Panel Doc to Australia House - 15/02/10
CO Acknowledged receipt of medical results (after prodding from me!) - 18/02/10
Partner Visa Subclass 100 GRANTED - 29/06/2010 at 23:02

My passport was sent off first thing this morning, so now I need to find something else to worry about.. But first a large drink!! Wahoo!! :o)