My cousin (a different one than mentioned in another recent thread of mine) is married to an Australian. Last year, they had two kids under the age of four together and were living in the US near me.
While they were expecting twins, an immediate family member of my cousin’s spouse got very sick in mid-2020. They moved down there, staying with the spouse’s relatives (there was question about how long the ill person would linger). The sick family member died not too long after their arrival, and the spouse was able to say goodbye and help with arrangements. By this time, the twins were born.
So now they have four children, including two infants, and there’s very little way they’ll be able to make the trip from Australia back here without assistance. Their current situation isn’t actually all that bad because of the spouse’s relatives, but us American relations haven’t seen the twins in person yet, and there’s some question about how sustainable this is, especially with the spouse being employed here in the states.
Anyone have any ideas on what their best course of action is, and/or can take guesses on when they’ll be able to return? While the kids love it there, I’m not seeing any signs that the parents want to turn into a permanent residency for now.
Sorry, very good question. As far as I know, the obstacles are practical; it would be very difficult for the two of them to handle four kids on a transcontinental flight by themselves, but anyone who accompanies them to aid them, like one of the sets of grandparents, would need to quarantine, and that’s not practical for anyone available right now in the US or Australia.
That sounds more like the cousin’s spouse than the cousin, and even then it’s mostly on the “heh, it’d be funny if they did something like that” level.
But I read Aussie news today and it could be extended until 2023. The current vaccination rate is four percent. According to many, the Aussie PM failed to secure vaccine contracts so Oz is now at Third-World vaccination status.
How are they financially? Because even if they don’t personally know anyone who would accompany them and help child-wrangle for pay to offset the costs, a temporary nanny or something might do it. It would be expensive, but it must exist as a service.
I can’t imagine how much it’d cost to pay someone to accompany them to the US and to compensate them for the quarantine when the helper returns. I think they may just stick it out at that point (for as long as they can, anyway).
Selfishly, the idea of not seeing my (honorary) nieces/nephews (both those just born and those older) until next year is…off-putting, but it’s not up to me. Hell, it may not even end up being up to my cousin, either. So even realistic suggestions may be futile. I guess if my cousin’s spouse’s job ends up being in jeopardy because of a long-term international stay like that, they might have to just suck it up and try to get back. I have no idea what that’d look like, though. Unpleasant, probably.
Still, ideas remain appreciated! The more the better!
If the air transfer is the main practical issue, and they can’t pay for someone to travel with them and quarantine, then they might just have to suck it up. It’d be hard for 20 hours or so, but it’s not going to kill them, or anyone else on the flight. There are two of them and four kids, meaning four hands.
Having traveled psalm with infants and children and having read about it, one advice is to travel when the child is between three and nine months old. Of course, each child is different so the babies’ personalities are the most important considerations but waiting too long may not be optimal.
They can get permission to leave if they’re not planning on coming back in the next 6mo or so (IIRC) - ie, they live overseas and are essentially stuck here in this case.
The major issue, at least inbound to Australia, is hotel quarantine placements and flight availabilities - I’ve heard some airlines will only take business class or above passengers. Not sure what the situation in reverse is, though.
How old are the kids now? Pre-COVID I travelled internationally a lot between Australia and the US and there were always a couple of babies/infants on the flight. What exactly prevents the parents from just dealing with the kids for the 13 hours or so it takes to fly between Australia and the west coast of the US?
Mrs P certainly travelled with both our kids by herself, so math suggests a two to one ratio is doable albeit No Fun At All.
There are international nurses who specialise in this sort of thing. I don’t know but suspect that it could be arranged for one to travel US to Australia, meet the flight and leave again immediately, thereby avoiding quarantine issues. This would be an expensive option. The agencies that arrange international nurse escorts are very well connected and if anyone would know or could work out if this were possible, it would be them.
Maybe you could find some other ‘trapped’ American eager to get home? You’d have to pay them some for the childcare during the flight, and maybe your cousin would have to cover an additional flight from wherever they land in the US to wherever the person actually means to fly to, but that ought to be a whole lot less than paying for a ticket US/Australia two ways and quarantine time.
Did they register the birth of twins and get passports with the US consulate (certificate of birth abroad)? Without a passport, they cannot travel.
I travelled with 6 month twins and a 4 year old. Twins were tough. I literally spent the entire flight from Shanghai cuddling one or the other as they tag teamed sleeping and crying loudly. The 4 year old was pretty fine with a bit of guidance. Man, that was about the worst 16 hours of my life. And, once landed, the twins kept whatever sleep schedule they had. Maybe sleeping 4-6 hours at a time, then needing to be fed, changed, and probably entertained as 6 month olds are won’t to be. I was so sleep exhausted and deprived I couldn’t see straight for days. That is even with relatives helping once we arrived in the US.
Flying back two weeks later sucked. But I was buoyed by the fact that two nannies were waiting in Shanghai. I basically, just handed the twins over and went to bed for about 36 hours.
So, my advice is if you’ve got arrangements for when they arrive, so the parents can had over all the kiddos and sleep
What, like air flight crews?
The biggest, singular source of new COVID-19 infections here for the past 12 months?
Arrivals go into mandatory hotel quarantine with a limited number of specific exemptions subject to protocols:
For transit passengers there is an 8 hour window.
Transit passengers
International transit passengers arriving into Australia can leave on another international flight that leaves from the city you arrived in. You must:
stay at the airport if you must wait for your next flight for up to 8 hours
go to mandatory quarantine at a state designated facility if the wait for your next flight is from 8 to 72 hours
Transit passengers cannot travel within Australia, even to meet a departing international flight in another city.