gemmmard

kpnuts - that's not what I meant - Mum and Dad have visited Australia several times in the last 3 - 4 years, but we only started the visa process in July of this year, applied around the 10th of July and received the PR award on the 1st October. Comment links in with what Allan Collett is saying below - we were lucky and got the visa in less than 4 months. Good luck.

KPnuts, Correct, it was the Aged Contributory Parent Visa. They were only here on a visitor visa, I think the 6 month visa. They've been here probably 9 months or so in the last 3 - 4 years, but that's all. Don't think that 'time served' made a difference, we were maybe just lucky! Lou8670 - hope that your MIL gets through the process and it all falls well for you and the family! Good luck to all with whatever visa you're looking at. Cheers, Mark

Hi there Bev. To be honest the money that we saved in the process by not using an agent was only $3,500 - $4,000 AUD, but my biggest concern was actually finding an agent that knew what needed to be done. I visited a couple here in Perth and each charged a nominal fee for an initial consultation ($100 - $150 AUD) but provided no confidence that they really knew the process (I seemed to more at times with my research...) I won't name the companies here, as it's not fair, and may have been down to a specific person, or my own viewpoint. In the end I had the confidence that I had completed everything as required (with a few calls to the IMMI department along the way to make sure!) and we were lucky enough to have the visa awarded within 12 weeks essentially! I have heard positive things about 'Go Matilda,' who are mentioned in this thread as well, and they would no doubt be able to help you with the process. Good luck and I hope that you get all sorted out to be here full time with your family! Cheers, Mark

Hey there! So, my folks arrived in Perth on the 1st July (after many extended holidays) and we sent of the visa paperwork round about the 10th July (manic time trying to cover all the requirements of the forms and certified documents!!!) Within the first month they had to arrange medicals and then police checks for the UK and Australia (point to note, if you're Scottish you have to also provide a Scottish police check as we're are on a different system (of course!) As long as the paperwork is submitted correctly it seems that the they're being processed in 3 - 6 months (after asking a few agencies as we did our research) The big thing is that once the process starts they give you a month to get medicals / police checks provided back to IMMI and then when it's time to pay the final instalment of the Visa they give you a month for that too. I believe that if you miss this deadline then all that happens if your visa process gets suspended until the paperwork / payment is received and then the visa is reactivated. It might mean a bit of a delay by being put at the back of the queue but best to confirm that for sure with IMMI. Good luck to you, and if you'd like to ask more, fire away! Mark

I think there are a few visas being discussed here, my Parent completed the Contributory (learn how to spell that word!) Aged Parent Visa that is sub class 864, but there are similarities across the various Parent Visas, so happy to offer any help I can guys!

Hi there Gareth. Would be happy to help if possible mate! The tricky one may be that your Mum's partner has 2/3rds of his kids outside Australia - I know that they're very strict on that part of the process. In saying that with your Mum having the 50% here she may be able to apply as the main applicant and take it from there. http://www.immi.gov.au is actually a really good resource these days, and if you can get into town, head to the Immigration office on Wellington Street - use their phones and ask the direct questions (trying to call the IMMI line from home or mobile is a nightmare!!!) Your Mum could almost definitely apply for the Parent / Aged parent (if she's over 65) visa being here in Perth on her own, but best check with IMMI if they want to send in a joint application. In terms of the visas available for both, when my folks applied they have suspended the standard (cheap!) visas and we had to go down the Contributary (Sp.) Visa route (circa $50k AUD) each applicant) and were then disappointed to hear that the cheaper visas seem to have now been reinstated after the motion was knocked back in parliament. The cheap visa will only set back your Mum about $5k AUD, but the process can take 15 years (you get put on a Bridging Visa in the meantime which means your Mum can stay in Australia). The Contributary Visa is said to take up to 18 months, but we applied on round about the 10th July (a week after my folks arrived in Australia - busy week!) and was granted on the 1st of October (Dad's Birthday!) It depends on how much you want to pay, and how you want to progress. Please don't hesitate to ping another message across if this doesn't help and we can talk more mate. Cheers. Mark One more thing - at the end of the visa process, whichever way you decide to go, they will need to provide full police checks for the UK and Australia and pass a full medical - something that might be trickier as our parents get older... (no insult intended!)

Hey all, I'm not sure how much joy you guys have with migration agents and assistance in moving down here to Australia, but to be honest the ones that I approached here in Perth didn't seem to be confident on the in's and out's of the specific visa that we wanted to apply for, the 'Contributory Aged Parent' visa. I ended up working through the whole process myself, the many forms, and additional information required, and we were lucky enough to have the process completed in less than three months, with Mum and Dad being awarded their Residency Visa on the 1st of October. I wouldn't say that it was an easy or enjoyable process, but I've learnt a great deal about it all and would be happy if anyone has questions about either the Parent Visas, or indeed Visas in general I'd be pleased to help if I can. Cheers!

I'll be honest, I didn't expect that reaction from my posting. I was thinking that it might be a benefit for folk registered with this forum who were looking to travel back home / had to return at the end of visas etc. My next post, which I'll just upload is hopefully more useful in that we've just completed my parents 'Aged Parent Visa' process, which I did myself, and we got awarded in less than 3 months, so if anyone would like help or advice in that process, I've jumped through all the hoops etc. Anyway I'll post that into the correct feed and hopefully that'll be a better contribution to the community here.

Hi all, New to the webpages here so home this unsolicited advert isn't against the rules! My parents recently moved here and brought with them a brand new UK standard car seat that they'd bought for our wee boy to use if / when we visited the UK. Now this has been confirmed to us that it can't be used in Australia as it doesn't comply to the design rules that the have here, but it is a high quality UK / Europe child car seat that would be ideal for anyone travelling / moving to the UK or Europe... The follow is the advert summary that we put up on Gumtree... We are selling an as-new child seat for 0 - 4 years old (up to 18kg) that we brought across from the UK. This is a UK SPECIFICATION seat, and would be idea if you were looking to travel or move to the UK or Europe. The FIRST CLASS plus combines the benefits of an infant carrier and a car seat that grows with your child. It combines a rearward facing seat (birth to 13kg) and a forward facing seat (9kg - 18kg). It is is absolutely excellent condition and comes with all original items and manual. Be aware that this is a UK specification seat and as such (while completely safe and certified) is not designed to the Australian regulations - in case you would like to use here in Austalia. NB Our seat is a black with grey support frame, not burgundy as in the stock photographs. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like any further details, or to view the seat. We are looking for $175 AUD or nearest reasonable offer. Look forward to hearing from anyone interested and from taking an active part in this website! Cheers, Mark