Stijn(75)

My entire career as a tropical biologist at Wageningen University revolved around tropical rainforests. I did fieldwork in Borneo, the Amazon and Australia. The Daintree Rainforest in North Queensland — the oldest rainforest in the world — was the subject of my most important publications. After retiring at seventy I knew: I want to spend my final years near my study subject.

My daughter Lotte had emigrated to Cairns twenty years earlier and gained Australian citizenship. She could sponsor us for the Subclass 143 Contributory Parent Visa. My wife had passed away three years prior, so I applied alone. The costs — AUD 47,955 — were substantial for a retiree, but my house in Wageningen sold for enough.

Entering the bureaucratic machine at seventy-three is not for the faint-hearted. Medical examinations (stricter for over-65s), police clearances from every country where I ever did fieldwork, translated documents — the paperwork was overwhelming. My MARA agent was indispensable. The entire process took fourteen months from application to grant.

Now I live in a small house in Port Douglas, a coastal town north of Cairns. The Daintree Rainforest literally starts at the edge of town. Every morning I walk through the rainforest I studied for forty years from a laboratory. I see cassowaries, tree kangaroos and orchids I only knew from photographs. It's surreal and wonderful.

Healthcare was my biggest concern. As a 73-year-old with a few chronic conditions I needed good medical care. After the two-year Medicare waiting period I'm now in the system. Cairns Hospital is surprisingly good, and my GP in Port Douglas takes time — twenty minutes per consultation, not ten. The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) covers most of my medications.

My advice to older Dutch people wanting to move to Australia: it's possible, but it's expensive and bureaucratic. The parent visa is the only route if you can no longer get a work visa. Start the application early, get a good MARA agent and make sure your finances are in order. And choose a place that touches your heart. For me that's the oldest rainforest in the world — my life's work, now my home.