Our U.S. born son has Australian citizenship because we are both Australians living permanently in the U.S. As such he is allowed to work in Australia. He is married to a U.S. citizen, what kind of visa does she need to work there? She has called the Aust. Consulate, and was told she must immigrate and not take a job from an Australia. But she is married to an Aust. cant understand why she needs to immigrate. An Australian bride of a U.S. citizen can work in the U.S. Anyone with similar problems?

She will need to get a permanent residency for australia.Given that she is a yank and married to an aussie that should be relatively easy.

Go to the autralian government
department of immigration website.

The process is analogous to an aussie who is married to an american getting a greencard.

So, what is that? (The analogous situation?) Our son is a US citizen, living & working in Australia, married to an Australian woman. They would like to be able to move back & forth between the USA & Australia. Has anyone had the experience of doing this? At this point, he can work there, but she has only visited the USA.

kathy

it was a while ago but i have been through the process from both angles.
My ex wife was american.I am an aussie.
initially we lived and worked in the usa
After getting health/police checks and having an interview with the us consul in sydney i got a "greencard" to work in the usa.I was a "resident alien" of the usa.For me the process was not that difficult

When we moved back to australia to live and work my ex wife went through a similar process to get "permanent residency" in australia.

Well, I guess they are going about it in the opposite way. My son is on his way to "permanent residency" in Australia. They have not yet begun to tackle residency in the US for my daughter-in-law!

Is there anyone out there (husband & wife) who have been able to move back & forth freely between both countries?

when i had a us greencard and my ex wife was a "permanent resident" of australia,we could move freely between both countries and work in both as appropriate.

To move freely between both countries both need duel citizenship for both countries. Not resident visa or green card.

A green card (resident alien) and Australian residency is dependant on the fact you actually live in that country for the duration. If you leave the country for an extended period of time it can mean your residency or green card is withdrawn.

I think usually this period of absence would need to be greater than 2 years. It displays to both immigration countries a lack of desire to actually live in their country.

I actually have a relative from England who immigrated to Australia as a child, went to England as a young adult and stayed for 3 years having fun and touring about as we do. He then returned and was denied entry to Australia. He had to immigrate all over again.

If you don't have citizenship you never ever are guaranteed free enrty to either country. You are at the mercy to the mood of the day, the customs official etc etc.

Also if you have any criminal charge whether minor or not it may mean re-entry is refused. (either nation).

Get dual citizenship, I believe you can now.

Also.

Health.

Many here may have seen an item on some current affair show recently.

An Australian man married an English girl and she was denied enrty due to low BMI. She was too skinny! No evidence of any health problem, just too skinny.

When you have socialised health care in a country it really restricts immigration controls. Marrying someone does not get around these harsh facts.

Well, maybe dual citizenship is the best way to go and better do it while you are still both young & healthy! Not that getting permanent residency and/or citizenship in the US is easy, but Australia seems just about impossible unless you are just about a "perfect specimen".

Kathy

I am an Aussie by citizenship and I took the immigration test recently for fun.

Apparently these days I am a failure, not prefect enough

So essentially I could not immigrate to my own country.

Tis very hard.

ps

I am not perfect enough either.

I met a couple once and sadly cannot remember the facts but roughly are:-

The female was an Aussie who met an American in Perth. They decided to marry and she applied to sponser him as an immigrant to Australia. However she was born in Indonesia when her parents were missionaries there. She only spent the first 2 months of her life in Indonesia yet when she went to immigration they said she could not apply for spouse immigration because she was Dutch! (Indonesia was Dutch colony at the time). She had never ever been anywhere near Holland. lol

Yes, Jane_47 - it is hard. And the hardest thing of all sometimes is trying to explain to Australian friends why it IS so hard. Folk like you, and others, who have had personal contact with people who just don't fit the pattern are unusual. Most folk just don't understand how the Aussie govt can let me stay for - 6 years now - but will never accept an application for permanent residency. It's embarrassing when I go to the Medicare office once a year to renew my card (which I, thank goodness, rarely have to use). The question usually is - why are you still temporary? The implication being that I don't want to commit to a country I love, and which is now my "home".

Meanswhile JH was on the box last night bewailing the fact that Australia has a skills shortage. And both parties have policies (allegedly) that aim to keep people in work longer/encourage them to retire later.

It's a mess - and I would think that even if it didn't impact on me personally.

Many thanks for all the thoughts, none very positive. The problem is compounded by the fact that my son has never lived in Australia, just visited. Had he been a permanent resident of Aust. his wife could be a dependant spouse. Glenn can certainly visit but has to get a s.s. card to work there. He does have dual citizenship as does his Australian born father here in the U.S. I (mother) am on a 'green card'. I understand that even a born in the U.S. citizen cannot leave the U.S. indefinitely and expect to return with no questions asked.
Still working the problem.

I don't know if this will help, but my US born son went to Australia on some sort of "young people's visa"-- for those under 30. It allowed him to live there & work there for some limited period of time before he was able to move on to another type visa. Depending on the age of your daughter-in-law, she may qualify for this.

Regarding the story of Jane 47, I had a similar happening. I was born in Hong Kong of Australian parents; and lived in Australia from the age of 6. In 1992 the Aust. government decided to take my Australian citizenship away from me. I was literally left without a country and no passport.
At the time - because of the impending change over - those born in Hong Kong had to obtain Permanent Identity cards - that took a year. Eventually, after producing school records, references from people who had known me in Australia between 1945 and 1949 (and how many of those were still alive) I got my citizenship back. Rules are rules they say!!!