Moving Down Under - 5 year plan?

[farflung]

Hi

DH has an option of heading to Sydney for work with his company next year. We've 3 young kids under 8 and we've been living in The Middle East for the last couple of years so kind of used to being abroad and away from family etc. We enjoy it for the most part, I've travelled a lot since a young age which suits me fine and the kids are thriving being abroad with all that goes with it. We make a big effort to stay in touch with both sides of the family and have made lots of visits since we moved out here, partly due to it not being too far I suppose.

I lived in Oz for a while many moons ago and have many lovely memories of the place. And some not so lovely - all dodgy boyfriend related! I always thought what a fabulous place to grow up it must be and to now have that opportunity for my children seems almost to good to be true.

There are cons to this obviously, grandparents being the main sticking point. We miss them and they miss us (namely the kids obv) and they are my parents only grandkids so they are very much looking forward to us returning next year, as is the current plan....

I'm feeling very confused about what to do. On the one hand I'm pretty sure that Australia would be great for us all but would the guilt of taking the kids even further away from their extended family taint it? Is it really worth it I wonder? Part of me is thinking (rather romantically/unrealistically according to my DH) that we could do a kind of 5 year plan down under? Getting back to the UK for the kids secondary education phase and the little ones would still be little enough for the grandparents to enjoy nice times with....

This brings me on to the following regarding visa's (sorry). I think my husband would be on a 457 visa? So what would me and the kids be on? And when could we become PR? And how long do you have to be PR to gain citizenship? I vaguely remember something about being a PR for 5 years and then you could apply for citizenship. Or if you get PR status does that ever run out so to speak? i.e. Could we come and go with rights to work etc? I guess long term I'm thinking I don't really want to be there forever, I'm very aware of the time that will most likely come when my parents need help from me and also for them to have some decent time with the kids before they get too old. But...I would dearly love to give my kids the option of another country to call home should they wish to get out of the UK when they've grown up. Especially Australia.

Thanks to anyone out there who can reply :)

[DeloresDeSyn]

Hi, I'm watching as I'm in a similar situation (well, the last bit of your post anyway) and didn't want to start another thread about it!

We have never lived abroad and I don't have a clue where to start!

[ifink]

Hi farflung, I could have written your post about 5 years ago...we did exactly what you are thinking about doing although went from the UK. We went to Oz on a 457 visa, Dh's work offered him a transfer there and he took it. We applied for PR after 2 years but I think the rule has changed and you can apply pretty much straight off from a 457 (depends on job/salary/age etc). We then applied for citizenship once we had 4 years of residency - you can count time on your 457 as long as the periods of living in Oz are continuous...you would have to check the rules about how long the breaks can be.
We have though now left Australia and live in Asia. We took the opportunity to go to Oz totally because of citizenship and the chances it offered our children as adults. However, if I'm honest, I'm not sure I want to return! Don't get me wrong, it was overall fabulous but the first couple of years were hard...with a capital H. Its a long way from friends, family and the time difference is a complete pain. Getting established in a 'non expat' type environment is v hard - on another thread someone refers to this about moving back to the UK too. And once you take 2 years to settle, another 2 to enjoy, thats it...you have got to decide if you stay or go home???!! We sidestepped this by taking an expat posting but the choice is still there, do we return to Oz or go 'home' (UK). Our kids consider themselves Australian (they were pretty young when we went) and when we talk about 'home' they mean Oz. Home for me is still the UK. The ramifications of this haven't fully come into play yet!

[shellybr]

We came out on a 457 4 1/2 years ago got PR 2 years ago and got Citizenship on Australia Day just gone. If you are going to Sydney you need to factor in that on a 457 you have to pay school fees for state schools. You and the children will all be on your husbands visa and you will have full working rights. To get citizenship you have to have lived in the country for 4 yrs and the last year has to be on PR.

[specialsubject]

don't do this to give the kids 'the option of another country to call home'. They won't need that - Australia needs its fruit and veg picked and welcomes gappies on WHVs. There are ways for staying for good afterwards if required.

do it for YOU.

[chloeb2002]

We came to Aus on a 457 back in 2007. Mainly to see if dh liked it. As a spouse you are included on a 457 visa. You can work or study and have reciprocal healthcare.
Schools depend on where you are. Here in qld public schools don't attract international student fees. Other states do. Our kids go to private schools.
We applied for employer sponsored pr in 2009. Slow processing at the time meant we got it in 2010..citizenship in 2014.
Not looked back. Yes it's along way from the uk. My mum visits every year and will at some point soon hopefully apply for parent migration to be able to travel more freely.