Cherry6

I have read back through some previous posts concerning this subject,
and have some questions I would like to ask.

I am an Australian returning to Oz in January with my children. Once I
have been there for 2 years I would like to sponsor my mum on a
parents visa. I am also considering that she might want to apply
onshore whilst visiting on a ETA and sit out the wait on a BVa (but
not with that intention). She passes the balance of family test, has
good character and good health. By this time she will be 66. She does
not have any large amount of money (nor do I) to pay for the other
visas offered by DIMA.

So questions I want to ask is:



a) On a BVa she cant travel (no probs), cant work, no medicare. She will
have her UK pension though. Once the parent visa is granted will she
be able to claim medicare etc or does she still have to pay?



b) She has a defacto who she has been with for 20 years. He is not my
actual father but is treated as such. Would he be able to go as her
partner? Would it be easier if they were married? He had a valve
replaced in his heart last year but is now in good health, is that
likely to be a problem?



Any advice gratefully appreciated, my mum is gutted to be losing her
grandchildren whom she sees currently every day. If there is any
migration agents who could help please answer as well. Thanks.

Cherry6

Also would like to know if anyone elses parents have applied onshore,
and whether they were refused or accepted.

Grace Floramo

cherry6 <member18379@british_expats.com> wrote in message news:<>...
    > I have read back through some previous posts concerning this subject,
    > and have some questions I would like to ask.
    >
    > I am an Australian returning to Oz in January with my children. Once I
    > have been there for 2 years I would like to sponsor my mum on a
    > parents visa. I am also considering that she might want to apply
    > onshore whilst visiting on a ETA and sit out the wait on a BVa (but
    > not with that intention). She passes the balance of family test, has
    > good character and good health. By this time she will be 66. She does
    > not have any large amount of money (nor do I) to pay for the other
    > visas offered by DIMA.
    >
    > So questions I want to ask is:
    >
    >
    >
    > a) On a BVa she cant travel (no probs), cant work, no medicare. She will
    > have her UK pension though. Once the parent visa is granted will she
    > be able to claim medicare etc or does she still have to pay?
    >
    >
    >
    > b) She has a defacto who she has been with for 20 years. He is not my
    > actual father but is treated as such. Would he be able to go as her
    > partner? Would it be easier if they were married? He had a valve
    > replaced in his heart last year but is now in good health, is that
    > likely to be a problem?
    >
    >
    >
    > Any advice gratefully appreciated, my mum is gutted to be losing her
    > grandchildren whom she sees currently every day. If there is any
    > migration agents who could help please answer as well. Thanks.

Hi Cherry,

A. If your mum travels on an ETA and applies onshore she could be
waiting a long time for the visa to be granted - this can take up to
10-15 years. During this time, there is no access to Medicare, social
security, etc. However, if she needs to travel, she can apply for a
Travel Bridging Visa (BVB) which will allow her to be absent for no
more than 3 months. Once she is granted permanent residence, she then
has access to Medicare.

B. If she has been in a relationship with her de facto for 20 years,
she can add him to the parent application as a de facto spouse. They
need to provide evience that they have been living together for at
least 12 months (which shouldn't be a problem) and there is no strict
requirement for them to be married.

The issue of his health will be assessed by Commonwealth Medical
Officers who will need to determine whether his condition is one which
will require ongoing care and access to services in Australia which
are in high demand, etc. If he is monitoring his health with regular
check up, this should be fine. But if he requires ongoing care and
treatment, this is something which may become an issue.

Regards
Grace Floramo
RMA 0209669

Jaj

    >On Wed, 03 Dec 2003 18:58:53 +0000, cherry6 <member18379@british_expats.com> wrote:
    >I have read back through some previous posts concerning this subject,
    >and have some questions I would like to ask.
    >I am an Australian returning to Oz in January with my children. Once I
    >have been there for 2 years I would like to sponsor my mum on a
    >parents visa.

How did you get your Australian citizenship, out of interest?


    >I am also considering that she might want to apply
    >onshore whilst visiting on a ETA and sit out the wait on a BVa (but
    >not with that intention).

Otherwise one can be refused entry on arrival.

    >She passes the balance of family test, has
    >good character and good health. By this time she will be 66. She does
    >not have any large amount of money (nor do I) to pay for the other
    >visas offered by DIMA.
    >So questions I want to ask is:
    >a) On a BVa she cant travel (no probs), cant work, no medicare.

Are you willing to support her to the extent that may be required?
What will her partner do for money under this route? BVAs granted on
the basis of an ETA have a 'no work' condition - this can be waived
sometimes but is not a straightforward process.

For medical care, both are likely to need health insurance which may
be expensive.


    > She will
    > have her UK pension though.

If she receives a UK state pension, it will continue to be paid but
probably won't be indexed each year (certainly not the basic state
pension, not sure about SERPS). Check with the DSS or whatever
they're called now.


    >Once the parent visa is granted will she
    > be able to claim medicare etc or does she still have to pay?

The wait for a non-contributory parent visa will be quite long. Well
over 5 years, possibly over 10. It's hard to predict at this stage
the exact number of years (and how the offshore queue will develop
compared to the onshore queue), but it will be a long wait.

    >b) She has a defacto who she has been with for 20 years. He is not my
    > actual father but is treated as such. Would he be able to go as her
    > partner? Would it be easier if they were married? He had a valve
    > replaced in his heart last year but is now in good health, is that
    > likely to be a problem?

She can add her partner to her application. They don't need to be
married as long as they can provide evidence of 12+ months
cohabitation.

His heart problem could well cause a problem with the health
requirement. No-one here will be able to say more than that.

On the subject of health, if you apply for the non-contributory parent
visas, and wait years for your place in the queue to come around,
there's always that one or more partners will have developed a health
problem that causes refusal at that point. Especially as many parents
are of an advanced age compared to other applicants.

    >Any advice gratefully appreciated, my mum is gutted to be losing her
    >grandchildren whom she sees currently every day. If there is any
    >migration agents who could help please answer as well. Thanks.

Spending many years in Australia on a BVA is a more serious option
than people think and you should get some good professional advice
tailored to your circumstances.

Have you considered alternatives, like maybe having your mother keep
her home in the UK but spend a few months each year (usually over the
northern winter) with you in Australia. She could always put in an
offshore non-contributory parent visa application under this scenario,
but keep her home in the UK while she waits.

Jeremy
This is not intended to be legal advice in any jurisdiction

Cherry6

    >

    > How did you get your Australian citizenship, out of interest?



I was born in Australia. My mum went over on the £10 passage, stayed in
Australia for a few years. We moved back to the UK when I was 2.





I am aware of the difficulties of being on a BVa, she would have her
pension as does her defacto, and they would stay with me and I would
help them if they had any problems. Helping out week to week isnt as
difficult as finding a huge amount of money from nowhere. You mentioned
flying out 3 months off the year and keeping her home, she rents so this
isnt an easy option either. She has no owned home to sell, housing
benefit helps her pay her rent here as it is too expensive and council
wont house her whilst she has accommodation. I suppose the basic thought
is that it is more preferable to be poor in Aus with family you love
than poor in the UK with no-one. And if the wait takes years, then so be
it, although hopefully the cont. parent visa will help take the heat off
it a bit. As I mentioned she will be 66 by the time this would happen,
at least she would get to spend her last years with people she loves (as
would her defacto). We are a very close family and this is very hard, as
I am sure you understand.

The defacto's health is now very good now the heart valve has been
replaced, he just takes medication and thats it. I know their health
could degenerate by the time their place comes on the queue, but at
least there would be time together whether it be 5, 10 years or more.
And by then, who knows what new visas might be in place? We might have
won some money and be able to apply for the cont. parent or retirement
visa (fingers crossed).

As I said, there is no intention to go down this route, but the
possibility is that whilst visiting us on an ETA she might not want to
leave her daughter and 3 grandchildren.



Your help and advice always gratefully appreciated.

Jaj

    >On Sat, 06 Dec 2003 09:23:29 +0000, cherry6 <member18379@british_expats.com> wrote:
    >> How did you get your Australian citizenship, out of interest?
    >I was born in Australia. My mum went over on the £10 passage, stayed in
    >Australia for a few years. We moved back to the UK when I was 2.

As you may well be aware, if she had taken Australian citizenship at
the time she lived in Australia (possible at the time after 1 years
residence for British people) she would not be facing this problem.

I regularly counsel people to take Australian citizenship as soon as
possible, this being one of the reasons.

    >I am aware of the difficulties of being on a BVa, she would have her
    >pension as does her defacto, and they would stay with me and I would
    >help them if they had any problems. Helping out week to week isnt as
    >difficult as finding a huge amount of money from nowhere. You mentioned
    >flying out 3 months off the year and keeping her home, she rents so this
    >isnt an easy option either. She has no owned home to sell, housing
    >benefit helps her pay her rent here as it is too expensive and council
    >wont house her whilst she has accommodation. I suppose the basic thought
    >is that it is more preferable to be poor in Aus with family you love
    >than poor in the UK with no-one. And if the wait takes years, then so be
    >it, although hopefully the cont. parent visa will help take the heat off
    >it a bit. As I mentioned she will be 66 by the time this would happen,
    >at least she would get to spend her last years with people she loves (as
    >would her defacto). We are a very close family and this is very hard, as
    >I am sure you understand.

Just be aware that medicals are requested before a place in the queue
is allocated (ie, within 1-2 years), so a refusal can come up at that
time (if the health problem is serious enough).

    >As I said, there is no intention to go down this route, but the
    >possibility is that whilst visiting us on an ETA she might not want to
    >leave her daughter and 3 grandchildren.

One important thing is to submit an application while within the 3
month stay permitted on an ETA - waiting until you become unlawful
before applying creates all kinds of complications (one of which is
usually refusal even if the other criteria are met).

    >Your help and advice always gratefully appreciated.

When you get to Australia, I strongly suggest you get some
professional advice. Try somewhere like IARC - http://www.iarc.asn.au
or a similar organisation elsewhere in Australia.

This forum is not the place to discuss some of the more techical
issues that you may encounter, such as applying for permission to work
on a BVA, getting a BVB if travel is needed, or even applying to the
minister for discretion following an (unsuccessful) MRT appeal if
there is a refusal on health grounds.


Jeremy
This is not intended to be legal advice in any jurisdiction

Jaj

PS I presume your children (if you have them) have been registered as
Australian citizens by descent?
http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/118.pdf

Jeremy

    >On Sat, 06 Dec 2003 21:46:18 GMT, (JAJ) wrote:
    >>On Sat, 06 Dec 2003 09:23:29 +0000, cherry6 <member18379@british_expats.com> wrote:
    >>> How did you get your Australian citizenship, out of interest?
    >>I was born in Australia. My mum went over on the £10 passage, stayed in
    >>Australia for a few years. We moved back to the UK when I was 2.

This is not intended to be legal advice in any jurisdiction

Cherry6

Originally posted by Jaj

    > PS I presume your children (if you have them) have been registered as

    > Australian citizens by descent?

    > http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/118.pdf"]http://www.immi.go-
    > v.au/allforms/pdf/118.pdf[/url]


    > Jeremy



Yes, they are all citizens by descent and have aus passports. My mum has
spent most of her life kicking herself for not taking citizenship when
she could. She returned to the UK, and after a short period of time
tried to go back to Aus but she missed the deadline by a couple of days.
They had just changed the rules. Whilst she was in Australia they were
so desperate, taking people in on the £10 scheme, that she never thought
it would be a problem going back. I would also urge people to take
citizenship if they are in a position to do so, unfortunately rules can
change so quick. My mum also missed out on buying blocks of land very
cheaply, another thing she is kicking herself for!!



I will seek professional advice on this (as you have recommended), and
hopefully there will be a solution when the time comes that will suit
everybody.



Thankyou.