sandch
-
Posts
328 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
3
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Gallery
Articles
Everything posted by sandch
-
Thanks John Yes, these are good suggestions - only problem is my sql / php programming is basic at best and it would take me ages to do get it right! Also I could only detect when they last looked at the tracker if they actually logged in. I'll try the dumb approach, but make sure everyone has plenty of leeway. It's about a year to CO at the moment - I could set that at 18 months. And after CO another 4 months perhaps? I keep hoping someone will offer to take over the programming! Cheers Steve
-
Hello and welcome There are probably two reasons; they're still active but have forgotten to update the tracker OR they've dropped out of the process. I will need to program it to hide any records that appear inactive otherwise it won't be a lot of help to anyone. The challenge is how long to give them before hiding the record. Cheers Steve
-
I interpreted it as you intended John - the wink was critical to the context. :twitcy:
-
We tried KLM back to the UK. They neglected to tell us the first sector would be on Malaysian Air until we'd paid. Oh and the last sector on Qantas. The main flight was very good. But customer services? Polite and utterly useless. Came back Singapore Air, my favourite, and I'm now (pessimistically) pursuing a claim with KLM. Tripadvisor reflects similar poor experiences with Emirates, I read that this may be due to recent financial belt-tightening at the airline. I've not used Emirates and of course it may have improved (or got worse!) Cheers Steve
-
Sadly most of their exports are priced in US Dollars...
-
Ah my fellow long-suffering CPV applicants. The crystal ball has been consulted and the indications for Australian interest rates are now upwards rather than downwards. Be fair, a week has gone by. It's probably the only remaining currency in the world that has any attraction for investors. They're now happily talking about 1.40 to the US Dollar (currently 1.10). This bodes ill for the sterling rate. I've also seen comments that the Aussie is perhaps no longer regarded as a risk currency. That would seem to mean that the volatility which saw it yo-yoing around early in the financial crisis is a thing of the past. As for Australia, the two speed economy is well and truly established. I see reports that huge investment (mining of course) underpins the resources boom; that part of the economy is firmly pinned to China's growth at the moment. We all want Australia to do well, but of course if your income is not dollars you suffer. I look forward to the next set of pronouncements from the economists which will probably reverse all of the aforesaid. :wacko:
-
You can enter a date John, and it'll give you a number but it's a completely meaningless exercise. There isn't a queue at the moment! It's a recurrent query on the forum, but after a while new members raise it again - understandably. Cheers Steve
-
Hello Kim and welcome to the most helpful forum on the internet! There's no queue for the 143 and 173 because the visa quota has not been filled. The queue is only operational when the government runs out of visas for this visa type. For an indication of current timescales have a look at http://www.chireckles.com/cpv/tracker.php ; a useful sample of applicants. Cheers and good luck. Steve
-
That's really good news. When my sister and her husband found that their chain was about to collapse, I recommended they buy one lower down the chain, which they did, then they rented it out. It only works if the difference in prices is significant and the one at the bottom isn't a dog, and you don't mind keeping a rental investment for a few years. For them it rescued them from a near-disaster. Cheers Steve
-
You'll need to include it in both tax returns Ann, but the double tax treaty should prevent any duplication. Don't forget to deduct any expenses relating to the rental. Cheers Steve
-
Just what Phoebe says, and I would add: The 12-month validation period normally runs from the date of the medical examination. The 5-year period runs from the date of visa grant. As I understand it, technically, after validation, you could arrive in Australia 1 day before the visa expires at the end of the 5-year period; but if you then want to go out of Australia for any reason (say for a holiday), you will need to apply for a returning resident's visa (because although you are a permanent resident, you would not be able to re-enter on the CPV as it would have expired). To get one of these you need to show a commitment to Australia which is normally 2 years of residence. Good luck Steve
-
Although we're doing it, there are lots of people who dislike renting; for very good reasons. When you've always owned your own place, however small, you're not at risk of having it sold out from under you, periodic rent inspections etc.
-
Hey Pete and Marg Get an exciting, or slightly exciting Plan B. We got our visas when the rate was sensible. So we have two expensive visas that we now have to use. Since shelling out the exchange rate has moved against us and has meant that there is no prospect of actually settling in Australia until both house prices and the dollar return to sensible levels. That may never happen. Had the rate been 1.5 when were were asked for the 2nd VAC we would have quietly withdrawn and come up with a Plan B. I expect this would have involved long holidays in Australia as and when we could have afforded it. But there has to be a point when the alternatives are more attractive than sticking rigidly to something that's not going to make you happy in the long term. I really hope you can find a way through, but in the meantime you've got a lot of support on this forum. Best wishes Steve
-
Carrying on the exchange rate theme, there are reports today that Australia will need to cut interest rates as a result of the two-speed economy. This is a big change in sentiment from very recently. If it turns out to be true, and rates actually start to rise in the UK next year, we could see a rapid change in the exchange rate. Right, now I'm putting the crystal ball back in the cupboard because it is tired... http://www.smh.com.au/business/westpac-rates-to-fall-1-20110715-1hi9s.html?from=smh_sb
-
She's right there is a long-overdue correction underway. Something we've seen in the UK several times over the decades. It's a weird economy here; huge sums of money being generated by mining, but declines in building, house prices, retail, and many industries being very affected by the strong dollar.
-
Some commodities are priced in US Dollars though aren't they? Huge China's growth has slowed to 9.5% by the way and if that's what they think is slow growth, little Australia will be a supplier for some time to come. In the end it's really about UK interest rates, and there's little prospect of those changing soon.
-
Hello Ann Go to http://www.chireckles.com/cpv/register.php and you'll be up and running in no time! Best wishes Steve
-
We were a bit later and despite hitting 2.53 for a couple of transfers in the heady 'meltdown' days, averaged 2.2 for the lot in the end. Hindsight. A wonderful if slightly useless thing.
-
Good to hear that news. What a lot of dosh that is eh? It makes me realise how quickly these fees are inflating each year. I checked back and see that we paid $63k for the 143s back in '09. As for the sterling cost, it's now scary. Good luck with the next steps. Cheers Steve
-
Hello The dollar is so strong at the moment that you might get a slightly better (or very similar) rate by paying via the Australian High Commission in London (http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/990i/converter.htm). The fixed rate is working out at 1.4738 (from 1 July 2011 until 31 Dec 2011). Check with HiFX or one of the other popular currency exchanges so that you have options. Not very palatable at the moment, sadly. Best wishes Steve
-
I'd say "Bon Voyage" but by now it's probably "Welcome to Australia"! I hope it's all that you expect. After an extended stay here in England due to work commitments, I'm off again tonight to rejoin my wife to keep her company in the Melbourne winter. All the best! Steve
-
I think the same way you posted this question. You can copy the text then paste it into a reply on this thread.
-
We were not asked for proof, but I can guarantee we will be if ever we have to claim. So keep the NCD certificate from your UK insurer handy!
-
Just wait till they get to start walking. We'd forgotten that! Nice to be able to hand them back.... :biggrin:
-
:sad:How incredibly disappointing! I feel for you and hope that it is a hurdle that can be quickly overcome. Good luck.