fergal007

I will look into it further , thanks again

Hi Amibovered, I had a look at them today, but their quote website is " under construction" at the moment. Have you used them?

Thank you Marisa , for some reason I seem to be thinking that you can open a basic current account with Lloyds at the counter? I will take your advise though.

Thank you Bristolman, I will make sure I bring back my Proof of NCD from here, I have some old UK ones too.

Hi Bungo, Thank you for the advise, I did use the Government Gateway in the past for SA tax returns, but I have no idea what my User ID and passwords are now!

Hi everyone, It has been a few years since I have been on PIO!, I am moving back to the UK after 4 and half (hard but successful) years in Australia. I need any advise on the below issues please. (1) I am planning on buying a motorhome in the UK on my return and heading across Europe for a few months career break, my problem is that I can not seem to able to change my previous UK address on my driving licence on the DVLA website (to my friends address, who resides in London as I will be residing with him once my break is over). I am an Irish and Australian citizen with a valid UK driving licence, but have not been a resident in the UK for the last 3 years. (2) Insurance seems to be a problem as I have not been a resident in the UK for 12 months ( or in some cases 185 days) , Can I get my friend to insure the motorhome and be put down on the policy as a named additional driver and still be covered to drive the vehicle? (3) If i purchase such a vehicle, surly if my name is on the V5 as the registered owner at my friends address, will I be then able to change my current UK driving licence to reflect this? (4) Can I tax the vehicle using my current UK driving licence , although it currently shows my old rental address? (the DVLA records still show that i have a valid UK driving licence at the old address). (5) Banking!!! What bank is the best option for someone who has no credit history back in the UK, not that I need credit or want credit, I purely want to just open a simple bank account to allow me to transfer some funds from here to there, and to have it in place when I return from Europe to allow payments from an employer (once I go back to work). Lloyds seem to have some basic accounts, and I can provide payslips from here if they should need any proof of income, has anyone else had this problem? Any information would be great

Mate I just done my last one for VIC and I now reside in Sydney, I told them of my job struggles 6 months after i landed in Melbourne. They said I was obliged to remain in the state for 2 years BUT if I had to move for work purposes then so be it. Just fill it out and state that you reside in Darwin as lack of work opportunities in the ACT has forced you to relocate. They wont say anything. Trust me, I can PM you the e-mail they sent me to give me the nod to leave VIC.

I have spent a lot of time and money to get here, so I need to make it a worth while operation, who knows, I might have kids in the future who might look back and thank dad for their Australian passport? Australia is a great country, but i feel its going down the wrong road, its been an experience and will continue to do so.

Its just as bad over here with the recent raids on homes. TBH i would just stay put if I was you, your life seems fine there? Just buy a holiday home in Spain! they are quite cheap these days

I have been here 2 and a half years, and will stay for another 2 till i get my citizenship. Its been tough for the most part to get a decent job, Australia in my eyes has become too "Americanized" and regardless of your visa status,immigrants (no matter where they are from) seem to be looked upon as some sort of "second class citizen". The whole "lifestyle" argument is quite debatable, I live a block from the beach, but hardly get down there as I have to work so much Be warned if your a construction or engineering professional you will be expected to do massive hours on a salary, 6 days a week for the most part 10-12 hour days. The health care system and many other services are being privatized at an accelerated rate (due to the current government) I am astounded at the open corruption in politics over here, its like its job description! The cost of living is very high, though wages are high, but I know family's that earn 2-3k a week combined, yet after all payments are made don't have much left in the kitty. I am quite lucky that I am single with no debt, but I would think life for an average family would be quite tough? big mortgage repayments, childcare, food etc. Australia unfortunately is running down the road of unbridled capitalism, with no thought for the social consequences and this will become a major problem in the future. I am enjoying my time here for the most part, no country is perfect, but my hart tells me Europe is where i belong (eventually) :tongue:

bump!

Hi guys, i done my Meds last week and contacted the centre today as to my results regarding my X-ray, Blood and Urine tests, all were fine and my Physical too on the day. But my Blood Pressure was very high on the day and i have to go to my GP to see what's going on with it. Im hoping i wont be refused a visa if i need to take pills to control it???? I am a bit of an anxious person and hope it was just jitters on the day. Has anyone had this problem??? and if so what was the outcome. Any info would be great cheers

Good question

Thanks for all the info Iron chef, much appreciated, I will deffo de-gas the AC unit, will i need to get a certificate for that? , now that we have " Ironed" :biggrin: out some of the import issuses, what does the whole Registration process involve???? Please dont tell me it is a bureaucratic nightmare , just to get the thing registered and road legal over there :mad: Thanks again for all of your time and advise , reply when ever you can , no dramas , i do understand that you a busy guy:notworthy:

That s what the shipping company said to me Jibbah, 1/4 tank in the Petrol, i will run the LPG tank dry, keeps the weight down and probably a bit of a safer option. (I think) we have to buy a ACME adapter to use their LPG pumps over there as ours in the UK are of the twist and lock "Dutch" Style. These can be purchased off most good LPG stockists or online off BRC website for about £13. Good news is that LPG is hovering around the 62-65 cent per litre mark in Melbourne at the moment, that's $31 to fill my Volvo , The Oz government are putting a higher tax on LPG over the coming years , but nowhere in line with Petrol, they have an abundance of it off their coast and its widely used out there. , keeps people like us smiling for miles :jiggy:

Dont worry about the parts situation , i talked to Volvo NZ and they said its no probs and should be no probs in Oz either , as all there parts are ordered in Sweden and will take about 4-7 working days to arrive in Oz , my car also shares most parts with the 1.8 and 2.0 I talked to a RO-RO company in Southampton and they said i DON'T need to de- pressurise the AC or the LPG system? for shipping and quoted me £1054 for transport to Melbourne, i just need to present the car at the port and make sure its spotless., and have the Import approval documentation to hand and have a 1/4 tank of fuel in it. However i would be grateful if you could give me a ball park figure as to how much duty i will pay on the car? (if you can), just a rough guess? Car is Volvo V40, 1.6, 75 thousand miles on the clock, spotless inside and out, mint condition, year of manufacture is 2000. Also if you could tell me what i may have to do to the car in order to make it road legal for use in Victoria on arrival there. Cheers mate

Hi Iron Chef, having mulled over the paper work for a Personally Imported Vehicle, i assume that when you have all the required documents in order, you send it off to the address enclosed. I assume within a short period of time and having met the criteria for the scheme, they send some sort of certificate that enables you to import the vehicle to Australia. With this in hand you arrange for your transportation of the vehicle, in my case it will be RO-RO from Southampton to Melbourne. My Car is a Volvo V40 1.6 (2000) , it has Air conditioning and an after market LPG system fitted by an LPGA Approved stockiest in the UK (certificate need for insurance approval). I assume both AC and LPG systems need to be depresssurised and a certificates would need to be presented to the shipping company to prove so before shipping the car??? I have contacted several LPG Garages in Victoria as to the availability of parts and common knowledge of the system fitted to my car, (BRC LPG) and this proves no problems at all as this type of system is fitted in Australia. You did mention in your reply to my initial post about my car that i may be able to find parts for the 1.6 V40 in New Zealand, having done a bit of research all i seem to come across is the 1.8 and 2.0 for sale and parts. The 1.6 does carry most of the same drive train parts as the 1.8, Brake disks , pads, clutch assemblies etc etc , are you sure the 1.6 model was sold in NZ?. Any information regarding sourcing of parts would be most helpful, Do you think its a good idea to contact Volvo Australia or Volvo New Zealand with my engine number and see if they can get parts for my engine type : B4162264651 I do realise that plenty of parts can be sourced on the internet and E-bay etc and most companies ship international. But some parts for Volvos can only be bought through Volvo main dealers, as i found out with a brake calliper component before. Do you have any idea as to how much import tax i will pay on the car if it gets to Australia??, and what i may have to change on the vehicle to make it compliment in Victoria, the speedo clock reads in MPH on the outer band , but also has KPH on the inner band. Are there many other requirements i should worry about? like Tyres, headlamp lens etc etc? Sorry for all the questions dude, but i love my car and just want to make the whole procedure as issue free as possible before i start the whole process I do understand that you are very busy at the moment and if you can answers some of my queries when you get a chance, or even point me in the right direction on the issues , it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for all your help Fergal

Hi Iron C. I'm another person, thinking of bringing my motor over to Oz! surprise surprise! except my car is a Mint X Volvo V40 1.6i with 75k on the clock , full Volvo Service history one previous owner , and an LPG conversion last January. As i have stated the car is Mint inside and outside and the engine is as clean as a whistle and has no leaks anywhere, i have owned this car for 3 years and its never missed a beat. Looking at the Red Book value of my car in Oz from what i can recall it was valued at about 5k over there according to the Red book, but i have seen them advertised from 5-10k online both private and dealers?, its only worth about 2-3k here (looking in the UK Autotrader) . I'm not sure if the 1.6 V40 was sold in Oz the 1.8 and 2.0 seem to be sold over there, i sent an e-mail to a Volvo Dealer inquiring about availability for parts for the 1.6, and stated that the car would be imported from the UK , but they never replied Ro-Ro services seem to be the way to go, like 1k to her there, but its all this other Oz compliant MOT stuff and import taxes that's putting me off the idea, But i do love that car and if it does come with me, i will drive it into the ground, being a Volvo that could take a long time! i still see E,F, G and H reg Volvos thundering down the M25 on a daily basis and my motor is deffo good for 200k , as a mate has one with 205k and its still running like a champ! How much paper work and dramas is really involved in shipping a motor over to Oz, is it a headache or a fairly straight forward affair? I do realise that your being inundated with questions on this subject and would be grateful if you could answer my queries when you can cheers Forgot to mention i will hopefully have a 176 state sponsored Visa (PR)