Hendrik & Truus(67)

Our son Mark emigrated to Perth ten years ago with his Australian wife. We visited him every year and fell more in love with Western Australia each time. But after my retirement — I was a director at a medium-sized company in Apeldoorn — we wanted more than three weeks of holiday per year. We wanted to be there as the grandchildren grew up.

The Subclass 143 Contributory Parent Visa was the only realistic option. The regular variant (Subclass 103) has a thirty-year waiting period — not a joke. The 143 visa costs AUD 47,955 per person, but you get permanent residency. Our son had to arrange an Assurance of Support as sponsor — a bank guarantee of AUD 10,000 per person blocked for ten years.

Total costs for both of us: nearly AUD 120,000 in visa fees, plus AUD 5,000 for medical examinations, police clearances and translations, plus AUD 4,000 for our MARA migration agent. We sold our house in Apeldoorn to finance it. It was a financial sacrifice, but we considered it worth the investment.

We chose Margaret River instead of Perth — three hours south. It's one of the most beautiful places in the world: vineyards, ancient karri forests, surf beaches and a food scene that rivals Provence. Mark and the kids come every weekend or we drive to Perth. The distance is fine — in the Netherlands we also drove an hour and a half to our daughter in Amsterdam.

Healthcare was our biggest concern. As new PR holders we had a two-year waiting period for Medicare. During that period we paid AUD 600 per month for private health insurance through Bupa. Now we have Medicare and a supplementary private policy for dental and specialists. The GP here works via the bulk billing system — free with your Medicare card.

Our life in Margaret River: every morning walking along the beach, afternoons reading in the garden, evenings cooking with local ingredients. We volunteer at the local Surf Life Saving Club and already have a circle of Australian and European friends. Truus does yoga, I golf. Our AOW and supplementary pension are transferred monthly — thanks to the tax treaty we only pay tax in Australia.