LAND DOWNUNDER

[aussie angel 0]

i got my work permit in the mail today it looks rather nice to

stellar i hope you get your police certificate soon keeping my fingers crossed for you

Kath how long till your interview?

aussie wench you must be in count down mode as well

angela

[aussie angel 0]

Just a note i have just read in another thread where an aussie got a fine in the mail to her address in aust because she didnt vote in an election i never even thought about removing my name from the electrol roll, I aslo reead i think from matt that if you do your tax retrun and say it is your last one they hit you for extra tax well i went on line and put in my gross for last year and it came up with x amount of tax then i did it again cheching the box saying last tax retrun and the tax was nearly twice the amount so i dont think i will let on it is my last one. i will do my tax on line like always and get the check sent to my old address in tassie then get my daughter to send me the check here, then i will remove my name from the electroll roll just in case they have some way of checking if you are on it

just thought id let you all know in case you hadent thought about it

angela

[aussiewench 9]

Thanks for the heads up Angela

Its got me wondering with the voting though. Can aussies living overseas still vote if they want to? I think I remember reading somewhere on a gov site that these kinda things are important for later as far as pensions go. Dont quote me on that though lol

congrats on the work permit

[aussie angel 0]

actually that would be interestnf to know maybe whle your still in aus you could make a general inquiry to the electrol commision annoymously they might be able to tell you then you could let me know lol. if we can still vote while in usa it might help out in the long term with pension if needed and that way we stay on the roll

angela

[StellaR 0]

Yeah well as far as I know you can stay on the electoral roll here you just have to get someone or them maybe to send you an absentee voting form each time there is an election. I'm pretty sure I did that when I was in Sweden. This is done way ahead of actual election time. So do you think that would help with pensions in our old age??

Congrates on the work permit too, Angela. Glad it's pretty too.

Bet that shoulders bugging you Kath, thinking of all the stuff you have to do to get ready to migrate. But yes you must rest it so you have no further problems. Sent an email today now too to the consulate, thanks for the advice Kath.

and Wenchie, some of these off-topics you get yourself into (I read silently) makes me wonder if the US is a safe place for us wild ones from downunder. They don't burn you at the stake anymore though do they? Mid-west Missouri, mmm.........I think I feel a Zsa Zsa moment coming on "Greenacres is the place to......."

Maybe another week for the criminal check.

Stella.

[aussiewench 9]

and Wenchie, some of these off-topics you get yourself into (I read silently) makes me wonder if the US is a safe place for us wild ones from downunder. They don't burn you at the stake anymore though do they? Mid-west Missouri, mmm.........I think I feel a Zsa Zsa moment coming on "Greenacres is the place to......."

I have wondered that often .....I know Dan doesnt quite know what to think at times. I have often thought too about all the different silly laws over there that I could be up for a life sentence if they ever decided to use any of them against me

I was mistaken about the tax and its effect on pension.......here is a link. Good to know for when we gonna need it

PENSIONS

[JC75 0]

Thanks for the heads up Angela

Its got me wondering with the voting though. Can aussies living overseas still vote if they want to? I think I remember reading somewhere on a gov site that these kinda things are important for later as far as pensions go. Dont quote me on that though lol

congrats on the work permit

Oh weird I thought that after 3 months oversea's you can't get a pension anymore...but I might be wrong. I think you can vote you just enroll as living abroad I know someone in london who told me once they still voted but that was ages ago. I think from memory they forms where sent to her.

[flossiefus 0]

Yes you can vote while you are overseas, I enrolled online and sent the required paperwork back. It isnt compulsory to vote though.... I will see if I can dig up the URL

Thanks for the heads up Angela

Its got me wondering with the voting though. Can aussies living overseas still vote if they want to? I think I remember reading somewhere on a gov site that these kinda things are important for later as far as pensions go. Dont quote me on that though lol

congrats on the work permit

Oh weird I thought that after 3 months oversea's you can't get a pension anymore...but I might be wrong. I think you can vote you just enroll as living abroad I know someone in london who told me once they still voted but that was ages ago. I think from memory they forms where sent to her.

[flossiefus 0]

Voting in Australian Elections

The Consulate-General provides postal voting facilities for Federal and many State elections. For further information, election results, enrolment and postal voting forms, please visit the Australian Electoral Commission website at www.aec.gov.au.

Australian citizens residing overseas for an extended period of time are not necessarily eligible to vote, even if they were registered when they left Australia. To check eligibility criteria and to find out about registering as an "Eligible Overseas Voter" read the Australia Electoral Commission's special enrollment provisions. Registering as an overseas voter does not mean you will automatically be notified of upcoming elections or sent ballots.

I often also get helpful info from ozinamerica a yahoo group

cheers

[Lunamel 0]

I'm afraid the answer about voting is a bit more complicated than that. Before leaving Australia, or within 3 years after leaving Australia, you can register as an overseas elector to make sure your name stays on the electoral roll. The form, however, asks if you intend to return to Australia within the next 6 years (you have to tick yes to stay on the roll), and you have to keep an address in Australia to use as your enrollment address. If you don't do this within 3 years after leaving Australia, you become permanently disenfranchised, and can't get back on the roll unless you return to Australia for a month and re-enroll from your Australian address.

If you've registered as an overseas voter, and you come up to the six year mark, you must write to the Australian Electoral Commission EVERY year thereafter, to ensure you remain on the roll (!) And you've always got to do this in the 3 months before your registration is due to expire. (If you are going overseas indefinitely, there is also a form to fill in if you want to take your name off the roll permanently.)

(You can find all the info here: http://www.aec.gov.au/_content/What/enrolment/elig_os.htm)

Voting is really important to me, especially as we might move back to Australia one day and I want to keep having a say about how the country is run! So, I'm going to try and keep going through this annoying process each year once I hit the six year mark, though I worry I might forget at some point...

On a more positive note, there are some groups lobbying the Australian government to change the law on this, so if we're lucky, things might change as more aussies leave the country! Here's some info: http://www.southern-cross-group.org/overse...seasvoting.html

And thanks for the police check and medical info Kath!

Chris

[StellaR 0]

stressing somewhat. I have faxed the consulate on wednesday to ask what to do about my appointed interview on next tuesday (no criminal check as yet) and emailed from the library yesterday and again today. When I looked in my "sent" box there was no record of an email being sent, the one from the library yesterday. So I ring the consulate today, of course you can't speak with them or get a message thru or nothing. She tells me they do not except Fax's only written snail mail or emails. So I ran off a letter and posted it today and too late. I have not heard from them and wonder if I should just turn up at my interview if I have not heard from them by Monday. I didn't think to put my phone number on the original FAX or email. I have to travel to Sydney the day before the interview. Gosh I wish I had not wrongly sent back that checklist before I had every thing in my hot little hands.

Stella.

[JC75 0]

stressing somewhat. I have faxed the consulate on wednesday to ask what to do about my appointed interview on next tuesday (no criminal check as yet) and emailed from the library yesterday and again today. When I looked in my "sent" box there was no record of an email being sent, the one from the library yesterday. So I ring the consulate today, of course you can't speak with them or get a message thru or nothing. She tells me they do not except Fax's only written snail mail or emails. So I ran off a letter and posted it today and too late. I have not heard from them and wonder if I should just turn up at my interview if I have not heard from them by Monday. I didn't think to put my phone number on the original FAX or email. I have to travel to Sydney the day before the interview. Gosh I wish I had not wrongly sent back that checklist before I had every thing in my hot little hands.

Stella.

When did you get the police check, surely it cant take more than a week ......damn. It's so stupid if they do so many checks surely that should be enough but alas...

[Kath 0]

hi stella

dont stress too much this is exactly what i went through also.. but i know for a fact they do get faxes...cos i got an email stating it ...is your email with hotmail or your server or outlook...cos i know if you dont check send copy to sent items within hotmail it wont do it ...outlook does keep record for you...

i emailed wed too about my interview an they got back to me friday...just keep checking your email.. if you cant get your fiance to do it for you mate...or someone you trust with your password to keep an eye out for you...

take a look at my time line .. my police check took ages cos they were back logged...

just deep breathe an fingers crossed mate..this is the part i hate about the sydney embassey.. there is no bloody way of talking to anyone...dont they think there are people getting stressed over these things everyday...grrrrrrrrrrrrrr ...sorry just had to vent for a second...

take care

kath

[ladygatsby 0]

I have a question regarding the effects of IMBRA on applications. From what I understood, it is to protect women, therefore the U.S citizen is getting a background check. Well, my better-half in Australia is male...so I have to have a background check to make sure i won't slap him around when he gets here?

[Kath 0]

hi there ladygatsby

i have done some reasearch for you on that and email you with the results...we all go through the background check even the u.s. citz do...

its just apart of the visa journey that u may or may not agree on an u get it done because u love that aussie man of yours...

take care

kath