sandch
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Everything posted by sandch
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Hello Gill. A gift is an example of a non-assessable receipt for tax purposes. But in a way I can understand the nervousness of individuals because even if the receipt is non-assessable income, it may still be necessary to prove it to the ATO with all the administrative fun that entails. As Les suggests is really is backward not to take these sums of money by bank transfer. It's not as if a bank transfer is a radical new process! I'll be steering well clear of tax advice of any sort on the tracker site by the way Gill; it's just far too risky, but the site is due for an overhaul and needs more information which is easier to get at, especially regarding this final VAC payment process. Cheers for now Steve
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They might've spent it, accidental like, on something very useful Gill. Much as we love them, sometimes our youngsters seem to have a slightly more refreshing (cavalier) attitude towards hard-earned cash. I have also known someone with a large overdraft arrangement to make an equally large deposit only to find that the bank removed the facility (with a corporate sigh of relief presumably) pronto. Cash gone! Not that any of this applies to Sandy, but sometimes you think that the round the solar system route is the safest.... Cheers Steve
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Good luck with getting the CO soon. I think we had 28 days to get the payment to them, but there is definitely some flexibility if you need a few more days. Regarding police clearance, from a purely bureaucratic point of view, I think they will need to see a certificate from the body they expect to see issuing the certificate, and it would need to be currently dated as they have a validity from the date of issue.
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And the next step is to.... ....wait!! (you'll get used to that). You'll get an acknowledgement in due course, then it's get on with life until that rarest of species, the lesser-crested CO, appears in your neck of the woods. Best of luck with it all. Steve
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This sort of receipt is classified as a gift, a one off, and is not assessable, so doesn't have to be declared. We paid our 2nd VAC by transferring funds to an HSBC account in Australia using HiFX, getting HSBC in Australia to issue a dollar draft which they would only send to us here in the UK (out home address), which we then couriered to Perth. Tortuous really.
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To make the final payment we also moved funds into an Australian account and got the draft issued from there. Even that was not without its excitement. Banks must be such boring places to work, that they need to spice the working day up a bit. Cheers Steve
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Hi Sandy Assuming your fund are in sterling in the UK, Try HiFX (hifx.co.uk) Their rates are better than the banks and I'm fairly sure they will send a draft wherever you want it to go. Give them a call and explain. We used them in 2008/9 to move funds to Australia and the service was generally good. Best of luck Steve
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Hey Mike, do they have anything that comes even close to the expression "link detached"? I just love that one as it perfectly encapsulates the essence of the real estate industry in Britain. That and "architect-designed" (to distinguish it from the ones they contracted the vicar to do) - oh, and "much sought after". Come to think of it the list is endless. The smilies on this site are pretty awful. Whatever happened to subtle? All the best folks. Steve
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Hello - nothing has arrived in my inbox at this end? What email address did you use? It should be cpvtracker@gainwave.co.uk I'll add you to the list anyway with the information I can find on this thread. Best wishes Steve
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As Les mentioned, there was a time in late 2009 when the "DIAC rate" was beneficial to applicants because it was set in Jul 2009 and the open market sterling/dollar exchange rate actually went well below it later that year. You will come across discussion threads from that era championing the London payment option. However it is generally set to benefit DIAC not the applicant hence the "punitive" rate of 1.57 now; which should generally discourage applicants using this payment method. Best wishes Steve
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Hello - it seems to me that if you have never appointed an agent, and are not intending to do so, the form is not applicable. If you believe this to be the case you should ask your CO why he/she has asked for it - explaining your circumstances. It may be related to a question in your original application. Cheers Steve
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You sound very understandably excited; it's quite infectious. But planning for the CPV and a migration agent is premature (the process is not complex by the way just boring). Stick with getting yourselves settled - I'm sure Mum will be able to spend extended visits over there to be with you. Are you OK on the balance of family test? Worth checking that first. She can only submit a CPV application (offshore) when her sponsor (you) is deemed to be a settled permanent resident. Best of luck and stay enthusiastic! Cheers Steve
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It's worth bearing in mind too that the state pension in Australia is means tested against your income and assets. Have a look at this Centrelink info page. It makes the UK state pension look quite valuable, though I always wonder how much will have changed by the time I actually reach retirement age. By the way for the 143 you also have to find the dosh for the AOS - $14,000 for a couple. Best wishes Steve
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Just to clarify; the terms of the visa don't require you to sell anything if you don't want to, even after validating and migrating. Lots of people do, to cover the cost of the visa and buying downunder, but it isn't a rule. Cheers Steve
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Just to point out that the 5 years is from date of visa grant, regardless of when you validate.
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The queue is for the parent visa 103 - there isn't a queue for CPVs (just people waiting, waiting.......)
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28 days is the norm. There is some flexibility in this, less so around May / June each year I suspect, for reasons of targets. However any latitude would not extend to the typical time scale required to sell a house. We downsized even before putting in our application for example. The 173 visa is an alternative which would require a lower initial outlay (no bond at that stage either) and give you another couple of years to sort the rest out. Best wishes Steve
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Forget the rest, the dog is a complete clincher. Dog = Settled in the official dictionary. The dog can also do a stat dec to confirm. You can tell it's Friday. :twitcy:
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For those contemplating paying at the High Commission in London; from now (1 July Canberra time) until 31 December 2010 you'll get a rate of $1.5760 = £1. That should put paid to that payment method for the forseeable future. Best wishes Steve
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Hello Phoebe The 143 visa is more expensive but is a permanent resident visa. The 173 is essentially a temporary visa which allows you within 2 years to "convert" to a 143. With the 173 you don't need to stump up a bond ($14,000 for a couple) or have an assurer; you only need to do this when you decide to convert. You would lose much less money of course by going for that one initially if you were concerned that you might not be able to settle. There are pros and cons of course - as with everything! Cheers Steve
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And another thing in this thread's favour; Gill's here!
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I've just caught up on this thread and I'm pleased to see that, for now at least, it's a sticky. I can at last check here regularly. I hope the adhesive is stronger than that which was applied to the last one! There are some really useful posts here, thanks to everyone. A recurring theme is the great challenge facing us would-be older migrants in ramping up our costs in the face of uncertain income prospects. This will mean leaving the comfortable home and finding rented accommodation in many cases, at the mercy of property agents, home inspections etc.; sometimes leaving safe jobs and putting oneself in front of employment agencies staffed with people who don't realise they are looking at their futures (by the way - best not to bother putting yourself through this imho). The emotional pull seems to be stronger than all those negative factors. Although there's no point in having a 103 tracker, it's good to have a thread that is wider than the CPV, because we're all aiming for the same thing. If time permits I think I'll try to do the same for the tracker site. Short of time now, but I'll have another read when it's quieter. Best wishes Steve