spangley

Thanks for your detailed response Nicky. When you say leaving the country "for any length of time" does that include holidays abroad, such as a month in Europe? Best regards James

Hi All, I'd be grateful is anyone can clarify my entitlement to citizenship. I believe the rules were changed a few years ago, so some expats I talk to offer conflicting advice. We received our 189 PR visa in March 2014. We activated the visa by visiting Melbourne in June 2014 We moved to Australia in Dec 2017 When can we start applying for citizenship? After physically being in Australia for 12 months or, after 4 years? A straightforward, friendly, helpful reply will be most welcome ? James

Hi all, I'd like to introduce you to my daughter's new YouTube channel for kids. We're new to Perth, and based in the Northern suburbs. We're hoping the channel will entertain and educate kids as well as us showcasing our new life in Perth from Amelie's perspective. Here's the link Amélie - Crafts and Fashion If you like it, please give it a thumbs up/subscribe and share. Also any constructive feedback would be appreciated. More content will appear over the coming weeks. Best Regards James

Thanks for confirming, very much appreciate your advice.

I have scoured high and low and cannot find any guidance from the Aussie govt websites regarding butane gas canisters. I have a number of CampingGaz cylinders for camping, and just want to know if they're allowed to be imported via sea or not. I also have a soldering iron which contains gas too. Your experience or wisdom will be greatly appreciated. choose files... Click to choose files

Hi all, I'm quite a kitchen enthusiast and have a lovely selection of seeds and spices such as cardamom and cumin etc. I also have canned foods and bags of porridge oats and pasta. Will I be able to bring this stuff over to Aus? Thanks in advance

Thanks all for your advice. And I agree, the hassle and additional expense means it's not worth it.

I might be able to come into possession of a Right Hand Drive 2003 VW Golf for free. We leave Switzerland for Perth in December and I'm checking whether it would fit into our container. The question is, would a it be worth our while? We wouldn't have owned it for the "12 months" the Aussie authorities ask for, however the transaction would be free with the current owners, so how could they levy duties etc? Would like to know people's thoughts on whether it's worthwhile pursuing or not. Many thanks.

From a business perspective, I'm curious to know if expats (of any nationality) are drawn to other expats for providing services such as carpentry, maintenance, plumbing, IT etc. Is there like an expat micro market in Australia? Where I live in Switzerland this is definitely the case, expats (internationals) often feel more comfortable to source services from other expats rather than local Swissies. I must point out that expats in Switzerland means pretty much anybody who isn't Swiss. British, German, Russian, Brazilian.

Hi Petals, I wouldn't offer ICT to visiting tourists rather the tourist sector. I gather tourism is a growing industry, and I'd like a slice of the tourism pie by offering services to hotels, b&b's, restaurants and activity companies. If finding an income on Tassie wasn't a problem, can you think of any other negatives?

Thankyou for your insight. You're helping to sell it even more And also, thanks for the TASICT link....this is invaluable and gives me even more confidence. There's a real can do attitude. 97% small businesses suggests that Tassie is made up of independent freethinking individuals.....right up my street

Our model isn't to target big corporates. We'd aim for small businesses and possibly the tourist trade. We'd just need to elbow in against local competition.

:wink:

We're 2 years into holding a 189 visa, and still haven't made the move down under yet. During this time we've done a reccie to Melbourne and surrounds as well as intensely researching places such as Perth and Brisbane. Frustrated by Melbourne's housing costs, disappointed by the soulless never ending urban sprawl of Perth and put off by the bogan reputation around Brisbane we decided to cast the net even wider and encompass that little island just a few miles north of of Antarctica. Tasmania!!! Goodness, it ticks so many boxes for us. It has history Beautiful Georgian and Victorian architecture Very little urban sprawl Mountains, Lakes, Coast Glorious food culture Affordable housing Low crime Fewer creepy crawlies Friendly people 1 hr flight to Australia's fastest growing city (Melbourne) Okay, I know the weather ain't great but it's only slightly worse than Melbourne's and it's a damn sight better than where I live in the Alps. Yesterday it was 7C in the daytime in May!!!! We want to buy a property outright, which is possible for us in Tassie. We also want to set up our own business offering IT and Secretarial services to local businesses. We've honed our targets on the city of Launceston (Excruciatingly pronounced LornSesston) Who can persuade us that we've made a bad judgement? Or perhaps anyone living in Tassie can confirm that we've indeed discovered a hidden gem.

Did you look at my profile to see where I live?