MikeW

Hi, I moved to Aus from UK in 2011 and have been an Aus citizen for few years. I have a buy-to-let property in the UK that I'm paying way over the odds on interest rate. Am I able to remortgage whilst in Aus? The last time I tried I was unable to as I had to physically be in the UK. A quick google search makes me think HSBC would be an option as they have offices in UK and Aus? Cheers, Mike

Thanks for your replies. Hi Bungo - I mean remortgage it as I want to release equity from it to put down as a deposit here. It's currently with Birmingham Midshires - they no longer offer any new mortgages. Hi Andrew - could you please message me the broker's details? Thanks.

Hi, I've seen an old thread from 4 years ago here so things may have changed since then. I am now an Australian citizen and want to remortgage my UK property (which I'm renting out). I have no UK income other than rental income. Around 5 years ago I spoke to my bank in the UK and they said I'd have to go to UK to sign the paperwork if I wanted to remortgage. A friend mentioned the other day that Comm Bank have branches in UK (as well as Australia obviously) so maybe worth checking with them i.e. get UK mortgage from Australia by going to their branch. Has anyone had any success remortgaging UK property from Australia? Cheers, Mike

M and M, We will be there! Look forward to it. Mike.

Blossom - I love the Delica. When I mentioned it to a guy I work with he told me to be very careful with them as after arounf 100,000 km (roughly) something can go wrong with them and it costs a fortune to put right. Does this sound familiar to you? I was gutted when he told me as I really like them. I prefer automatics - would never go back to manual now!

Thanks for your reply. I had never heard of techsafe, just had a quick look on their website - looks good. Never considered a panel van... will have a look at the costs! Thanks, Mike.

Hi MaryRose, Don't come on this site that often. Just wanted to say thanks for your tips. I called a couple of the pubs you mentioned, one of the guys told me as the match was on at 4am I would be better going to Cheers Bar. That's where I went and had a great night\morning! Thanks again! Mike.

Hi, We are a family of 4 and have been living in Australia for nearly 2 years. One of my regrets was not buying a Volkwagen V5 campervan in the UK before I came and ship it over. They are so expensive here. I was offered a 10 yr old one in the UK for £18k (would cost double that in Australia). I'm after a 7 seater that I can put seats down and sleep in it for weekend trips. Can't really have a fully converted camper as I'll need the additional seats for when we have visitors from the UK. I've been looking online at Toyota Hiace Super Custom, these are 7-8 seater. They're imports and cost around $16k (around 2002 model). Does anyone have any tips of a good place to buy reasonably priced campers in Australia without costing a fortune? In hindsight I should have bought a 7-8 seater when we first came to Australia. Instead we rushed into buying and bought an estate car (5 seat) which is no use when we have visitors. I would like a camper that is quite economical on fuel. Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

Mary Rose - excellent reply - thanks very much for your time!

Hi, I will be staying in Sydney weekend of 16th March. The 6 nations rugby has\will been screened on ESPN. Does anyone know of any hotels that have espn - preferably in the room as my kids will want to watch it as well?! Thanks, Mike.

Hi, My Mother is visiting is for the UK for a couple of months. Unfortunately she tripped on Christmas Day and as a result she has torn her Achilles tendon and also has dvt (docs think it's as a result of resting her leg to aid recovery of Achilles injury). Christmas Day I took her to hospital, they said they didn't think she had torn her ligaments and told her to rest. Anyhow, she went to my local gp yesterday and he referred her to a private imaging who confirmed she has dvt and torn ligament. The scan cost $300. We are going to see the gp this morning to see what treatment is required. I called the insurance company my Mum used, and they've told me she is not covered for these scans etc as she should be using the free public system as UK residents are covered under the reciprocal agreement in Australia. Even though it looks like we have to find the cost of the scan and doctors fee at $75 per visit, should we therefore tell the gp today that any treatment she requires should go through public (free) service? I take it free service means turn up at local hospital and queue in a and e? Do I need to take my mother to Medicare first? This is annoying as we are following doctors advice which is important as dvt is serious. What is the point taking out travel insurance when visiting Australia when they do not cover private, and when it's not required public due to the reciprocal agreement? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Mike.

Thanks for your replies. That's a shame. The reason I was asking is as I work in IT in the ACT and you have to be a citizen to apply for nearly all IT related work.

Hi, I am working in Australia, I am a Permanent Residence (176 visa) and have been here for 16 months. It takes 4 years to be able to apply for citizenship. I'm sure I read somewhere that a company can apply in some way to expedite the process so you can be granted Citizenship before the 4 years. Is this true? Cheers!

Thanks all for replies. We have been in Australia for 14 months and registered with Medicare 14 months ago. Loopylu - thanks for pointing this out - I wasn't aware :-( I am 40 so need to get it sorted quickly! Cheers, Mike.

Hi Dan, Have just had a quick look, lots of options. NIB, Bupa and Medibank are very close to my work so I will call in one lunch time soon. May be easier face to face. Appreciate your advice. Mike.

Thanks for the info... costly but worth it.

Hi, Wife, two kids and I been in Australia for over a year now and finally getting round to looking for family health and dental cover. Both my children, 10 and 7 year olds will require tooth braces so this is something we need to factor in. Does anyone have any ideas roughly how much health\dental cover a family per month? How do people choose who to go with? It's obviously a huge thing that is important you get it right, so I'm not sure if anyone offers advice? Cheers, Mike.

Thanks for your replies. In the end I booked an apointment in Newport. It was a four hour drive but I got my new passport after 4 hrs wait. Cheers, Mike.

Hi Jurls, Thanks for your reply. I've decided to leave it until I get to Australia as there were no appointments available in the next few days in Liverpool. I just hope I'm able to book a flight and fly back to Australia with only 2 months left on my passport! Cheers, Mike.

Hi, Have been in Canberra for 6 months. I've come to UK for Christmas and need to renew my passport as it runs out in March. I head back to Australia next week. Am I best to do this whilst in the UK? I'm staying an hour from Liverpool so an option is to drive there. Will my permanent residency 'visa' automatically be transfered to my new passport or do I need to do anything? Thanks, Mike.

Apologies for not making it today. I had intended on going but by the time I'd finish all the stuff I had to do it was running late. Would have liked to have met everyone again and the newcomers. Hope you enjoyed and looking forward to the next one. Mike.

Looking forward to meeting the new arrivals (and everyone else) on Sunday. My advice for new arrivals is - buy a Sat Nav ASAP - saves so much time\stress\arguing! Weather doesn't look promising at the mo for Sunday... Supposed to be showers. Early days yet though. Mike.

Great - thanks for the tips! Will look them all up. R & C - yes, we're going on Sunday - looking forward to it.

Hi, I'm in Australia and looking to buy a tent. We had a Khyam Quick erect tent in the UK but couldn't bring it over with us. They don't seem to sell Khyam's in Australia. Has anyone bought a tent in the UK and sent it over to UK? I was wandering if the UK tents are no good in Australia as they don't offer enough UV Protection? Is there a difference or are UK tents ok? Thanks, Mike.

Thanks Quoll - looks great.