This is a long story told short. This is not a joke and there is no punch line. We genuinely need advice
Craig - one of my wife’s grandsons has a partner Amie whom he met a few years ago and they now live together. Amie already had a son now aged 10 who was born in Australia when she lived there with her parents who had moved to Australia a couple of years earlier. She had an Australian boy friend who dumped her when she told him she was pregnant and he vanished.
After a couple of years her parents decided that they would return to the UK – reasons unknown – and Amie and her son came with them.
After a year or so her parents decided they had made a mistake and went back to Australia together, Amie stayed in the UK. Amie’s dad is a self-employed carpet fitter and he struggled for about 18 months, so they returned again to the UK. By then, Amie had met Craig and they moved into a rented house together. At the time Craig had struggled to find a decent job but then fell on his feet and got a permanent job with prospects – he remains very happy and reasonably well paid as a storekeeper at a manufacturing company in the Midlands. He lacks formal qualifications but has spent 6 years there initially as a labourer, then stores assistant then storekeeper.
Two years ago Amie and Craig had a lovely little daughter, Craig was now enjoying a stable family life and a good job. In April 2020 Amie was pregnant again and Craig was looking forward to being a dad again. Amie was also happy and for extra money returned to looking after the books for her dad.
2 months ago a bomb dropped.
Amie’s parents put their house up for sale with the intention of returning to Australia. They want Amie, Craig, her dad’s sister, husband, and their three kids to rent a large house together near Sydney. Craig sees it as a bloody commune and he would no longer have his own independent family. He doesn’t have a Visa or a job to go to – but the others don’t have jobs anyway. Her parent’s and Amie's residence Visas expire on 31st December 2020 so time is of the essence. Amie wants to go with them – she has a (soon to expire) residence Visa, her son has an Australian passport, she was previously happy there and is urging Craig to join them. He is torn. He wants Amie and his kids – but doesn’t want to leave the UK and give up a job that offers them a good stable future. He is understandably worried that her flip-flop parents will return to the UK for the third time, Amie will want to come with them and he will not have a job or a home to return to.
We can’t pry and the above tale includes a few assumptions, but it leaves us speculating about what might happen. Hopefully you guys in Australia can provide some help.
1. What are the prospects of Craig getting a residence Visa and a job in Australia. He is the father of Amie’s two latest kids but they are not married.
2. Will their residence visas allow Amie and her parents to return to Australia before it expires in December. If so, does in actually expire if they return to living there and they then get kicked out or does it have to be renewed.
3. I’m not all that bothered about the situation – but my wife is getting stressed about the situation – one made worse by the covid problems.
I’m just hoping one of you guys on the forum can shine a light.
