I’m changing my name to Bruce Shano Hogan
Posted on Friday 2nd July 2010
At long last … and with very little fanfare … at least no more than the “new email alert” sound on my laptop …. my permanent residency has been granted.
So, while still a filthy immigrant, I am at now at least an acceptable one. The new financial year ticked over and I was pretty much first in line amongst the annual migration quota. And all with surprisingly little resistance. At the very least we were expecting to be asked for more documentation or even to an interview. All that time we spent getting our stories straight was for nowt.
But obviously this comes as a welcome relief and with a few notable benefits. Firstly my eligibility for jobs is better as Australia (quite rightly) upholds the principle of nepotism. If only the UK had the same attitude then I wouldn’t have needed to come out here …. but, naturally, have no regrets whatsoever. The other significant advantage will be full Medicare (the Australian equivalent of the NHS) entitlement. So now I can save a small fortune by cancelling the extortionate rates charged to foreigners for private medical insurance.
In the next year or two I will likely apply for full citizenship as that would make life even easier. But for the time-being it is a good feeling knowing that I don’t have to go through the rigmarole of repeated visa applications every couple of years …. with the accompanying unwelcome blood tests and x-rays.
