SJT

Thanks Rossmoyne. i have today sent of my son's citizenship application. I will update on here as things happen so anyone with a similar situation has a rough idea of time periods between each step and what the new citizenship parts include.

So I spoke to DIAC - had to wait 5 and half hours for a call back!!! because I have held a PR since Jan 2012 and stepped foot in Aus in Oct 2012 as a PR holder I am eligible to apply now. We will apply for the rest of the family but wait until my middle son turns 16 next month as he has to apply for himself. hope this info helps others.

I was trying to find it yesterday to like the replies to my question!!

Firstly thank you for all your replies. Elfie I totally agree, which I why I am hestiant to file for our citizenship, but cannot seem to get a definite answer from anyone. Rossmoyne - not quite sure what "I agree Elfie.... so many people just want instant gratification these days. Sometimes the goal posts move and you have to do other stuff to achieve what you want in life. None of us are excluded from that!" means. I do not want instant gratification. We started this journey over 6 years ago. We made sure we got PR before we left the UK, costing us thousands of pounds and taking a year to do so, but we wanted to be as secure as possible when we got here for our children's sake. When we finally got here my hubby was out of work for seven months, luckily we had made financial arrangements to cover that as we knew the chances of us walking straight into jobs was not going to be easy. We have now lived in Perth for nearly four years, love what Perth has to offer and now want to take the next step. I now work for a local electrical company, my eldest son volunteers his time at a local soccer club 5 hours a week. It really only benefits my children to be citizens, my eldest wants to be a primary school PE teacher and to do that he needs a uni degree which will cost him at least $88k to get, so to have a HEX loan to enable that would help out a lot. If I apply too early, and the first application gets turned down, the chances of getting citizenship in the time frame we need will be very remote, but if we could apply now, it means the chances of my son being a citizen in time to start his uni degree is doeable. The reason I stopped posting on here was because things rapidly turn into arguments on here, when I first joined the Forum it as all about helping people. Giving advice from those who have gone through the same experience as you and for newbies to have somewhere to go, ask the silly questions, we all need answering at some point but which are very important to the person asking the question. Arwen - Calculate your permanent residency If you were granted a permanent resident visa before you arrived in Australia, your permanent residence date is the date that you arrived in Australia on that visa. If you were granted a permanent resident visa after you arrived in Australia, your permanent residence date will be the date that the visa was granted. This was the bit a few of us Perth Poms girls were trying to figure out, someone had found something about if you validate your visa first,before making the final move, then that date counts as long as you have not been out of Australia for over a year in the last four years, which applies to us. Once I have a definitive answer to my question I will post the result here for those querying the same.

There were a few of us having discussions yesterday about what time qualifies as the four years on a PR as some may be able to apply now but are not 100% sure. When I first put in my details it says that I am eligible to apply for citzenship from 16th July 2017, but someone advised to try putting the information in differently, when I did it says I can apply for citzenship now!!!! it is so confusing. On the calculator it says Permanent residence date - and Lawful residence date - and then you have to put in how many days you have been out of Australia. On other websites it says the lawful residence date is the day you first stepped into Australia even if it was just to activate your visa, then left after two weeks. Can anyone shed actual factual light on what construes as the lawful residence date, is it the date you ever first stepped into Australia under your PR visa or the actual date you came to Australia to live as a permanent resident. My main worry is that I apply now, 3 months too early maybe, and get refused, would consequences does that have on future applications. Our main objective is to get citizenship asap for my eldest son is will be going to Uni full time in Feb 2018. Any help anyone can give would be greatly appreciated. SJT

We use RSPCA, and they pay 80% of all costs, so no excess, which means even if its a small bill, you still get some back. Our first year of insurance we claimed for over $12,000 - had a very sick puppy, and the premiums have still not gone up, we pay $43 a month for a dog and $45 for a cat.

Hello Here is our basic, we live in a modest 4 x 2, no pool but we do have retic. TPG (internet and home phone) $69.99 Bupa Private $244.50 (full cover family of 5) Foxtel $26.00 only need basic so I can catch UK TV Vodaphone $50.00 (1 people SIM only) House Insurance Woolworths $114.50 PSCA Pet Insurance 1 dofg 1 cat $81.00 Gas DD $100.00 Electric DD $200.00 Water DD $180.00 Shire rates $191 Rego $210 and car maintenance for 2 cars Car Insurance $95 2010 Ford Fiesta and 2009 Volvo XC90 Petrol for 2 cars $425 per month Food $1,500.00 but thats basic, not including nice lunch stuff we buy at the weekend Strata insurance $15 Life insurance 1 person $95, hubbies is in his super. School fees - $233, and that's public not private. Obviously the above list does not include our mortage, social outings, clothing, prescriptions, physio etc but it gives an idea of monthly expenses. As you can see mine varies somewhat from Arwens for certain things. All three of my childen take money for lunches as their school bags are so heavy they really don't have room for packed lunches, but I know lots of kids that do take lunches. Financially, we are worse off here than we were in the UK, but we moved here purely for a different way of life. My husband still has a very busy job with lots of stresses, but he is home most days by 6pm, in the UK he was rarely home before 8.00pm and then had lots of work to do after everyone had gone to bed. Don't get me wrong, you still have to make beds, wash floors etc and go to work, but the family time here I think is better spent. We all still really miss close family and friends but have decided after living here for 3 and half years, those scarficies have been worth it, as for us personally, life is so much better here. We are lucky because all 3 of our children feel the same way, and consider Perth their home now. Don't get me wrong, it was very hard when we first moved here, it took hubby 8 months to find work, luckily we had planned financially for him taking about a year. I have found friends can be "superficial" here, and got my fingers burnt. Luckily I have made some good friends, many of them off here (you know who you are girls, even though I don't get to see you all as much as like due to all of us having work committments), and being from all over Perth from Rockingham up to Mullaloo, from all walks of life. Hope it helps. XX

Good morning When I booked my flight back for next May, I rang flight centre advised them of the prices I could get online and she said they could'nt beat the on price I was given. She did advise me of the very cheapest price I could get from them for that time of year and said if I could get it cheaper online then I was doing OK. The prices to fly from Perth back to the UK seems so extorinate I wanted to make sure I was getting the best deal I could without too many stop overs. For the time of year I am going I found Qatar the cheapest.

I do miss the exictement that comes with the first snow fall, especially watching it snow at night with the street lights on. I hope it is all going well for you Very Stormy?

We live in Scarborough and have a cat door for our puppy, and our first cat came and went as he pleased day or night, he never wandered too far. Unfortunately he got hit by a car, and died, but our new cat has the freedom, she has just decided she is a princess, and as such cat doors do not work for her, her owner has to open the door whenever said cat fancies going out or coming in It depends on what you are comfortable with, lots of cat owners I know never let their cat out at all, only in their garden and keep them in all night, others like me have cat doors so they come and go. There are some regulations in some areas to how many cats you can own and there is also "Keeping and Control of Cats Local Law 1999", which Stirling City Council have in place for Trigg Bushland and similar areas. I suppose the worry is if you live near bushland or similar the cats destroy the wildlife there, but from my prospective I would be worried about my cat getting bit by a snake. Once you are settled, and know exactly what shire you will be living in, etc you will be able to ascertain more facts pertinent to your situation. Good luck with the move.

Glad you arrived safely. Now try and relax, normal life soon takes over again.

Tony You have to do what is best for you and yours. At least you have given it a go. I have to say 2 and half years in and I still struggle and the only reason is friends and family. I do not want to live in the UK and do not miss it in any shape or form but I do miss close family. You take it for granted those friendships you leave behind in the UK and the amount of time you invested in those friends. I really thought I had found some really good friends here but it was all show and I ended up getting very hurt and it has made me back off from other friends I had made on here, even those PP people that are lovely and really friendly. It has just made be very wary of meeting new people, which in turn has left us both feeling very lonely, it is a lose/ lose situation really. We have just had UK friends come over and stay and they went back to today, and it has brought it all home again, the ease we felt around them, the fun and giggles we have had over the last few days has brought up my homesickness again, so at least you know you gave it a try. Good luck for the future and hopefully you can settle down again soon. Sarah

Hi Portlaunay You have been missed, a few of us were worried about you. It's great to have you back, I definitely have missed your posts and comments. XX

I found out on Friday that a couple of friends who are Australian, had visited my parents pub which is in a small country village in Kent where there are only 10 houses, how random is that!!!

Hi Keefo It unfortunately does not cover water rates and ours are about $250 and water usage for two months and we don't have a pool but it covers rubbish collection etc.

We have just got our rate bill in and its $2,400 for the year and we live in a 3 bed house in Scarborough.

Good morning All. Admin I am not sure if this is allowed, so please delete it if not. A friend has recently come over from the UK and is setting up new franchise opportunities here in Perth and there are also jobs for session leaders. This is a completely new business here in Perth and Australia and has become a big hit back in the UK. I have attached a copy of the advert she has placed in Perth Jobs on Facebook. "Over the next few months Pyjama drama will be searching for the right people to join our team to spearhead their own franchises throughout Perth. This is a unique opportunity for ambitious individuals who are passionate about drama and working with babies and children under 7 years old! There are also job opportunities for session leaders to work through-out Perth! For a copy of our prospectus email amanda@pyjamadrama.com.au "

Good morning, Your daughter will be in the same year she is when you leave the UK, it just means she repeats those first few months she would have done in the UK, but that is ok as it is completely different system here and my children just saw it as a chance to make friends and learn about how the school does things. The cut off date for when your child is born for the school year is 30 June, where as in the UK it's the end of Aug. What I still find a bit confusing is that all my daughter's friends start year six in two weeks and she still has six months before she starts year six, and so obviously she will start high school six months later than her UK friends which she is not happy about. Hope this helps

We went with RSPCA and I have to say they have been fantastic. Our puppy is just over a year old and has been very very ill, and nearly died and it has cost over $7,000 to find out the reason why, luckily we have the answer and the RSPCA paid out 80% of the total sum. Also we have just had her renewal and the premiums have not gone up at all. Definitely worth considering them.

Unfortunately everyone's ideal World and salary are completely different to everyone elses and so do peoples views on everything else. You have to do what your gut is telling you. We came here because we wanted to try something different, explore another country and have a more laid back life style. It is bloody hard work and no one can prepare you for the home sickness, feeling out of place in a foriegn country, leaving family and friends behind and having to start all over again. Some find this easy to do, others like myself really struggle. Moving here has to be the hardest thing I have ever done in my whole life and we thought long and hard before we made the jump. Financially we are still no where near what we were earning in the UK, but that's ok because we prepared for that and knew that was how it was going to be. We have the same size mortgage that we did in the UK, again not what we hoped for, but the reality was we wanted to live in a certain place, so that was our choice, we could have been nearly mortgage free, living in a huge house with pool, cinema room, play room the works, but we did not want to live that far out of Perth city or the beach, so we now live in an area that we love and can see ourselves living in for many years. Hubby took a while to find a job (seven months) but now has a job that he loves, he has the right work/life balance which was one of the reasons for moving here. It has taken us a while to find friends, we got burnt along the way finding them, but now have some very good friends. The children are happy and settled. I have managed to find myself a part time job that fits in perfectly with family life. So for us moving to Perth was the right thing to do. So for us, the upset, uncertainty and challenging start to our Perth life was worth it, as now we really appreciate what we have got and what hard work it has taken us to get here, we are not lucky to live in such a beautiful place, because we have earnt that right with hard work, determination and lots and lots of tears, and trust me there have been a lot of tears. It also means that walking down to the beach on a winter's evening for ice cream with the kids and the dog means so much more, because it has not been easy, no one gave us a helping hand, we did it all sheer determination and now love living here.

I have to say, when we validated our visa, I would not even get out the car when we drove through Scarborough. It looked tatty and nothing like anywhere else in Perth. Then when we moved here our short term stay was in Wembley which we loved, but could not afford long term lets, so we ended up in Scarborough, which I now love. It is central to so much stuff, we can be in Yanchep in 45 mins, Freo in 25 mins, the city in 15 mins (which means cheap taxi fairs home after a night out). We literally live a very short 5 min walk to the beach, bars and cafes (it actually takes longer to cross the West Coast Highway waiting at the traffic lights, than the actual walking park). Scarorough is a great place to people watch and it's always an interesting walk. There is also a fair mix of cultures, my children are friends with lots of different people, Australian, Chinese, Indian. And very luckily for us, the Western Australian Youth strings Orchestra rehearse out of Churchlands Senior High School, which is only 7 mins away from where we live, but children attend from all over Perth. Hopefully from a parent's point of view, as the children grew up, they are central to lots of things and can walk to the nearest bars and nightlife, so I won't have too far to go to pick them up when needed!!!! It's a great place that fits our needs now.

Hi Keefo, No that was not me, my kids were all at home too cold for them (well two of them were having a pj day, the 3rd is 16 so coming out with us is just uncool). It was just hubby, me and the dog. I love people watching down there I could literally sit there for hours watching the world go by.

It was lovely down there today Keefo, we sat in the ampitheatre for ages, just people watching and chilling out with a coffee. In the sun it was very warm, but you can tell I have been here a while, I still wore my jeans, but did take the cardi off for a bit.

We arrived in Jul 2013 and it seemed to never stop raining. The last few days have been a bit mild compared to normal Perth wet weather, it takes a little bit of getting use to when the storms start to come in and you see photos of the lighting strikes, water spouts and cloud shelves, but I now enjoy them and when it's raining stay snuggled up indoors (unless we have a netball match). I think its the noise that is difficult to adjust to, as when it pours down it's deafening. I remember a water spout at Fremantle I think, it was the second week we were here, and it killed someone, that seemed quite freaky, but again I love looking out for them now, as back in the UK yes we had storms, but the ones here are magical to watch, as long as you stay safe and no major damage occurs. It is lovely to sit on the beach and watch a storm roll in from the ocean, just make sure you get off the beach before it reaches shore.