DavidandGill

Thank you, that explains it , all very confusing when you have never done anything like this before, appreciate the advise. Ann

The process is the same as described by liverpooloo for HIFx and you can deal either online or by telephone. We have HiFx accounts in both the UK and in Australia and can deal online on either site during business hours. In our experience we have achieved a slightly better rate of exchange dealing over the phone rather than online. We opened Australia Bank accounts when we were visiting. You don't need a Tax File Number to open an account but do watch out for the rate of withholding tax you might be charged while still resident in the UK - we were being charged 46% until we wrote and pointed out the reciprocal arrangements with the Uk whereby only 10% should have been charged. (You declare the interest to UK tax as foreign income and they charge the other 10% being the basic rate of tax) This was corrected and we received a refund of overcharged tax.

Gill

Tuesday

Household belongings left the North East today with Pickfords heading for Brisbane, don't know whereabouts in Brisbane as my son has yet to find a rental for him or us.

Checked in on line today for my flights tomorrow with BA from Newcastle to Heathrow to Singapore to Cairns.

Packed the cases and ready to go.

 

David

Great news - enjoy your new and exciting life. Gill

I would ring them up or email them again -because a £ to a penny they are sitting on their desk. We had the same thing happen with ours and emailed saying that we had tracked them to Australia on a specific date and could they check again amongst their delivery...lo and behold they found them.

Julie

We had exactly the same experience - we tracked them as far as the Australian Postal System on a specific date and Immi went on a search for them and, just as Julie has said, they found them ! E mail and be a bit pushy but get as many facts as you can first. Good Luck Gill

Well it's now official. Our CO sent us a withdrawal form which I completed and have just sent off :cry: it was sad to see our name no longer on the Tracker too :cry: but it had to be done.

 

The form was simple enough basically just name DOB and date for each applicant and once the CO has logged it and thankfully the sponsor does not have to do anything.............

 

I have some personal and family health issues going on ATM too and things with the business are up in the air with the economy :swoon: so we have decided to wait until after the New Year before we make any decisions on the future.

 

Thankyou all for your kind posts and messages they were very much appreciated :yes: and I will stay in touch with the forum in the meantime.

 

Once we make a decision you will all be the first to know :wink:

 

 

 

Phoebe

Hi Phoebe - Have not had much time to read all the messages on this thread for a while and have just caught up on your news. I am so sorry it has come to this and I really hope things improve for you soon, and that you will achieve your ambition to move here. With very best wishes. Gill

Well, who would have thought it - you leave the UK to take up life the other side of the world and be with your family, and what does your family do..............................they get to meet the Queen! More celebrity for our beautiful Grandaughter.

http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2011/10/27/287441_news.html

:notworthy::notworthy:

:cry:

 

Ar 7.30am yrsterday morning when I was checking my emails the one we all long for dropped into my inbox.....our CO had been appointed. It's taken 58 weeks from acknowledgement.

 

I've spoken to him about our situation basically asking if there was any leeway to postpone the application for 6 months but it seems not so we have had to withdraw the application, it has to be resubmitted (more $) and back to the

starting post.

 

Its good news for those who are waiting there's a CO free to be reassigned. :biggrin:

 

Im so gutted I feel like giving up altogether :cry: :cry:

 

Phoebe

So sorry to hear about your difficulties, I hope everything gets sorted out for you very soon.

Gill

Our timings are very similar - 8 weeks for you and just over 7 weeks for us by the time our furniture is delivered!

 

Survey went OK today - exchange Monday and complete/move in on 18th November. Our shipment is due in Adelaide around 14th but I assume you add a few days more for customs clearance.

Our container arrived Melbourne on 28th July but it was a week before we heard that customs were going to process it. We then received an invoice for $96 Customs Charge for the 3 bottles of Champagne and couple of fairly new electrical goods we declared, which once paid was then passed on for quarantine inspection. We expected quarantine to find something (just for the sake of it) that would need treating, but they didn't - it was inspected, passed and given clearance within 48 hours. Prior to leaving the UK we had negotiated a few weeks free storage but in reality the timing was perfect. The house was completed on the 11th and we had arranged for delivery on 14th.

Gill

Buying a house here is so easy compared to the UK. We put in an offer saturday, it was accepted yesterday, signed contracts today and once survey is done (Thursday) and hopefully OK we pay the deposit next Monday and exchange formally. Could be in our beautiful new home by 18th November!!!!

 

We Tarrants don't hang about. We only arrived 2 weeks ago tomorrow. (But we had visited, researched and looked on-line at loads of houses since we started this whole Visa process)

Congratulations - I thought we were fast, arrived in Australia 14th June, completed house purchase 11th August, took delivery of our container and moved in 14th August! Hope it all goes smoothly for you. Gill

Thanks.

 

I have a suspicious mind about the efficiency of Medicare staff, so it might be worth double-checking – a lot of money at stake, potentially (ie, the difference between age-30 premium and age-whatever).

 

Mike

We have just sorted out our private medical and had to get a letter of eligibility from Medicare for the Lifetime Loading exception - our year started the day we arrived and validated our Visa and took up permanent residence. We registered with medicare as PRs about a week or two later.

After a frantic fortnight of packing up, parties, goodbyes, house and car selling, staying with friends and living out of a suitcase........:chatterbox: WE HAVE SET FOOT IN THE PROMISED LAND. We arrived yesterday on the 5th anniversary of my daughter's arrival and are happily settling into our new life in Adelaide.

 

Off to sort out Bank, Tax, Medicare, Seniors Card etc in the next few days and have already planned a few 'opens' for the weekend! The adventure has begun (shame we left 30 degrees and blue skies in Surrey and arrived to 16 and rain in Australia):biglaugh:

 

Can't believe we're finally here (probably never to return to the UK) and living the dream. Good luck to all on the journey, your time will soon come and 'g'day mate' to all those already here who have helped us along the way.:wink:

Welcome to Oz- congratulations - just think summer is on its way!

Just a thought but anyone else heading for Melbourne...Mornington Peninsula...would love go catch up once there and settled

Hi we arrived in Torquay, (Great Ocean Road) on 14th June, not too far from MP. Would love to get together some time once you are settled. Keep in touch - you can always PM, would be happy to hear from you.

Gill & David

Not long now - talk about stress (there's a few of us going through the wringer at the moment but we're nearly there too)

 

Good luck with the move and the flight. Bet you're counting down the days now.:cute:

Know exactly what you mean about the stress - you think it will get easier once you have the Visa but for some reason it only gets worse with organising the actual move!

But it is worth it - keep your eyes on the prize (as our daughter kept saying) - our prize was our granddaughter admitted to hospital with strep pneumonia within a few days of our arrival. We were literally left "holding the baby" brother - only 5 months old. Glad to say all is improving now, with Scarlett well and truly on the mend. Now, if the gale force winds and rain from Antarctica could ease.................................

Good luck

Gill :realmad:

Congratulations to Jane & Clive on getting your Visas - sorry for delay, just got the computer up and running again after nearly two weeks without.

Best wishes Gill & David

Hi everyone,

We are sitting in the Business Class Lounge (Emirates) at Gatwick on our way to Australia! The goodbyes have been very hard and we are a bit discombobulated at the moment but it will be well worth it all when we arrive at our Daughter's house on Tuesday morning. Will keep you all informed of how we get on, but for now, those who are waiting for the CPV - keep the faith, it will arrive eventually! (It actually feels a bit unreal at the moment, so I think that calls for another glass of champagne!)

Best wishes to everyone

David& Gill

My OH and I applied for the CPV143 last year got acknowledgement 3rd September 2010, with CO's coming faster now we worked out we should be due a CO around August/Sep time 2011. We then found ourselves in the position where we cant fund the 143 ATM so were considering changing to 173. We are currently in Oz meeting our new grandson (now 9 weeks old) and go back to blighty next week still very unsure about what to do :unsure:

 

This 8 week trip was to try and give us a rough idea of living and working in Oz :yes: originally we had the offer of a granny flat to use for our stay but due to circumstances beyond our control it fell through at the last minute :daydreaming: so my daughter & SIL have had to put us up and, as much as we all get on 4 adults and 3 little one's in a 3 bedroomed house is a tight squeeze :swoon: so we havnt really had the chance to feel what it's like to 'live' here as it were so my OH is even more unsure than he originally was about coming out :shocked:

 

My thoughts are now going to cancelling the 143 (which we have no option but to do for financial reasons) but instead of changing to the 173 straight away possibly going on the list for the 103 so we are still on a 'list' as such then see if there is a way to come out here for 6 months on a holiday visa and rent a place to see how OH feels then, although we wouldnt be able to work........Oh what to do........:arghh:

 

Phoebe

Oh Phoebe,

My heart goes out to you - this process is hard enough when you are lucky enough to be able to finance the Visas, and I have often thanked my lucky stars that David & I have been fortunate enough to not find ourselves having to sell the house to finance our move. You have the additional problem of your OH being so uncertain as well. There is very little that any of us can offer in the way of advice to help you, other than to say that we are thinking of you and I feel sure that something will come along and help you make the right decision.

Just don't make commitments too soon, until you have a CO, you still have time to think through and research your options. I really wish you the best of luck and hope that your dilemma is soon resolved.

With lots of good luck to you. Gill

We lived out in melbourne from last sept to april his year..we set up a bank account with nab we got our raf pension paid into uk bank .transfered £1000 monthly into moneycorp and phoned them when we wanted to exchange the money...we had no charges during the whole 7 months with nab ...i tried ....to manage on about. $150 for food shoppjng for the two of us...i looked at the weekly offers ...we ate well...any eating out was not out of his...my dh likes his food...he had bacon butties most mornings...snack type lunch and cooked meal at night... Usually cheese and biscuits or peanuts etc watching tv . I did keep a close eye on the weekly offers and bought in bulk ..we always had tim tams...fruit...everything we wanted...but instead of going shoppjng for a certain thing i was ready to change my plan if i found something on offer ..so i might go intending to buy pork..but come back with chicken..i didnt just shop in one shop..i didnt shop daily... None of this was a struggle...i had time to shop around..unlike my daughter who spent a small fortune on shopping...i also found alternatives...sams warehouse stocks a fake pringle....very very close to the real thing...crisp and fresh have amazing des and far cheaper than coles and safeways...i signed up for the weekly emails from all stores ...then did a list accordingly...you usually find coles and safeway are pretty close together...we did eat out ...look up http://www.spreets.com.au daily deals ...we had cheap meal deals at lots of different restraunts in melbourne..spreets operate in all areas...there are other deal web sites too...they also do deals for hairdressing...my daughtr and i both went for a full sort of make over...costing about £20 each...we had hair cuts..massage. And makeup...its ll out there you just need to spend a bit of time looking and then your off...i alredy have two hairdressing vouchers paid for ready fr my return in august...ohhh we also had charter fishing trips too at about a 1/4 of the real price and they had a great day out...hope all this helps...yes prices have risen but you can live well...we have ...

We are moving to Torquay - unbelievably in less than 2 weeks!! Torquay is a lovely coastal holiday town with a Safeway and IGA - but its expensive to shop there - the shops rely on the captive holidaymakers who don't want to bother shopping around. Our daughter also spends a small fortune on food and often shops daily, although she does do a weekly shop at Aldi - aher favourite shop! To be fair with two young children, shopping on her own is difficult. We intend to do a weekly shop at Warne Ponds about a 20 minutes drive away, where there is a Safeway, Coles and loads of independents in a huge shopping retail park and mall. We have looked around and Warne Ponds is both cheaper and stocks a wider selection of stuff. We are also considering joining the Costco warehouse in Melbourne - apparently up to 40% cheaper on everything from food to spectacles - but that is a 100k drive, but one we will likely make every three months for Scarlett's routine hospital checkups so reckon we could stock up on stuff like loo rolls, washing powder, dishwasher tablets etc., etc., for two households it could be worth it. Has anyone else done something like that? Thankfully, being retired gives us some time to shop around.

Have just signed up to the Spreets website - very similar to Groupon which I use here in the UK so thanks for that info.

Gill

Good luck

 

the money disappeared from our bank account today so the Visa shouldn't be long now - just the wretched house to sell!

Excellent news - not too long now! Gill

[quote=

(b) HIFX close outside UK business hours which is really annoying because it means you can't do an online transaction until the Australian evening.

QUOTE]

 

 

Hi

 

I have HIFX accounts in the UK and Aus which means that I have an extended trading period.

 

Charlie

HiFX UK has recommended we do the same when we get to Australia and have already provided me with a contact in Oz via Email. Gill

Yes, having no passport stamps doesn't make it easy. We had to put in a few "estimates" with the help of photo albums!

 

But it's part of the package you have to send in with Police Certificates and meds.

 

Mike

We had the same issue but just put down in our forms, "numerous trips within the EU - no passport stamp required" and this was acceptable.Gill

Folks, remember that the "charges" are actually built into the rate you get with HiFX. The best way to see the effect of this is to start an online transaction with HiFX for £250, write down the rate, then abort the transaction. Then do the same for £3,000. There will be a distinct difference. This is because they do need to charge for the service, but the fixed amount is absorbed into the rate. For smaller amounts it has a disproportionate effect. It is a little disingenuous of HiFX to claim there are no charges, but I understand why the rates work this way and I still use them because I can obtain and commit to an immediate rate - I do avoid transferring small amounts through any provider though if I can avoid it.

 

I'd quote you an example, but the service is offline until tomorrow.

 

Cheers

 

Steve

Hadn't thought about it the way you describe above - will be really interested to see the outcome of your example. We have always transferred fairly largish sums so perhaps have not felt the impact of small transfers. interesting stuff. Thanks Steve

~Gill

Wow David and Gill that all sounds fantastic...where i Melbourne are you heading ... My daughtsr lives i Highett and we have a cabin in Rosebud... I have followed your story and felt your pain.. My grandchild Daisy has been a very poorly little girl... i had a middle of the night phone call that she was in intensive care and they were looking at wether to donate her organs...i left our house in swindon at 4 am without a flight and was flyingout of heathrow by 8 .30 thanks to emirates..daisy was in an induced comanand a very poorly little girl...thankfully that was to years ago and this year we saw her start school... I look forward to hearing the rest of your story and hearing how your move goes. Enjoy enjoy enjoy x

Apologies for delay in replying - been busy packing! We are going to Torquay at the start of the Great Ocean Road, where our family are. It is terrible when you are here in the UK and get that awful phone call to tell you your grandchild is ill. We got the call on a Wednesday and by Saturday we were flying to Melbourne, we stayed a month while they stabilised Scarlett, but had only been back here for one and half weeks when our daughter phoned to say that heart transplant was "inevitable". We took about three weeks to get our affairs sorted out at this end for an indefinite stay in Australia and went back. We had been there nearly four weeks when a heart became available. She is now two and half, has a baby brother, has been the "face" of the Good Friday Appeal 2011 for the Royal Children's hospital, and is a very cheeky monkey! Apart from a string of nasty colds and viral infections just lately (it is winter after all!) she is doing extremely well and recently passed her first renal scan with flying colours. Her prognosis is very good but as with all transplantees, even a relatively minor infection has the potential to become dangerous so life for our daughter and her partner is always worrying.

I have heard of Rosebud but not Highett - note to self, must improve geography of new home state! Was your grandaughter treated at RCH? It is one of the leading hospitals in the world for children's medicine and we have always found the staff there to be absolutely fantastic. Scarlett spent a lot of time in Intensive Care and you never forget how helpless you feel watching them being so poorly. But even as ill as Scarlett was, there were other children who were even worse and you learn to be grateful for every small step forwards. I am so glad to hear Daisy made a full recovery.

Our daughter has made Scarlett a countdown chart with stickers for each day until we arrive - only 15 days to go. Off to do some more sorting out.

Best wishes Gill

As ever, Steve, really useful advice-thanks!

 

I had not processed the fact that the receiving bank would do a charge if you got your state pension put directly in to your Oz account.

However, when I think about it, the only time I have ever been charged by my Oz account for a transfer was at Christmas when I did a small transfer of about £200 via the Post Office who claimed it would be fee free but I then got clobbered by CBA for £15.

 

Its also useful to know that the Ukforex fee free limit is £3000-I was about to transfer £2500 so I will increase that a little...!

 

Are you still in the UK or have you returned to Melbourne?

We use HiFx and looking at their webpage (to check the facts) you can transfer as little as £250 without incurring charges (other than any that might arise from paying HiFX) - see snippets below from their website.

Q. What types of transactions can I undertake online? A.Only Spot (buy now, pay now) transactions can take place online. For Forward transactions (that allow you to fix the exchange rate for up to 12 months) and Regular Transfers, please call our Customer Services Team on +44(0)1753 859 159. They will discuss your requirements and explain the best options depending on your individual circumstances.

Q. Are there any hidden charges? A.No. We don’t charge you to send your international money transfers. No transfer charges and no commission fees.

This does not include the cost of you transferring the funds to HiFX and any charges incurred where the funds being sent are in a different currency to the destination bank account. As part of the service, HiFX provides one free transfer per trade.

Q. How much can I transfer using HiFX Online? A.

A minimum of £250 and a maximum of £70,000 per online transaction, to a limit of £75,000 each day. For larger transactions please call our Customer Service Team on +44(0)1753 859 159 (Option 3).

Hope this is not considered inappropriate advertising but we have used HiFx for around 4 years and have always found them to be very good - friends use them to transfer to South Africa and when they were charged by their bank in SA, HiFx refunded the charges as promised.

Regards Gill

Just managed to grab a few minutes to update everyone on what is going on. We received our Visas on 16th May, exchanged contracts on our house last Monday, have booked the movers (Pickfords) for next Friday, the container for the 8th June, we will complete on the house on 9th and fly out to Melbourne on the 12th! It's all go now - we really thought we had organised ourselves pretty well over the last 15 months waiting for the Visa, but there is still so much to do - but the list is getting slightly shorter every day and the ticks are increasing! We have suffered with sleepless nights worrying about "the process" - we don't have any concerns about moving to Australia, but the getting there is very stressful, and we have felt that we have not been coping very well. Of course the farewells are emotional and difficult as well.

It will be so worth it though - this morning's phone conversation with our daughter, included our grandaughter telling us what she is going to do "when Nanny and Grandad come to live with them" - she is going to play shops and do reading with Grandad, and have kisses and cuddles with Nanny - and go swimming with Nanny!" Can't wait!

Continued good luck to everyone ! Gill

Corks will be popping tonight - just got the request for our final VAC!

(and first viewing of the house tonight with another on Friday) fingers crossed!

Another step closer - congratulations! Gill

Hi Steve,

Could you please award the rare Red Star please, we received notification today from our Case Officer that our CPV 143 visa was granted today.

It has certainly been an interesting journey, all went well until the medicals where we hit a bit of a hurdle. My wife failed due to faint traces of blood in here urine sample, we were told to see our GP who in turn sent my wife to a consultant and for ultra scans of her kidneys.

This of course took time, so finally after two 28 day extensions from our very helpful case officer we received the all clear letter from the consultant though the letter went walk about in the Royal Mail somewhere, we finally got there with one day to spare on the second extension.

On receipt of the medicals in Sydney everything moved ahead very quickly with the request for the 2nd Vac on the 13th of May, we paid via London via a Visa Debit card on the 16th May. A tip send a copy of the 2nd VAC payment request with your mandate as it speeds up the process, I forgot to send ours though Eric at the London Australia house was exceptionally helpful.

I chose to pay via the Visa Debit card as it was far simpler than using a Credit card, the Credit card people were making waves when I asked to extend the credit limit on the card to £46,000.00, I fell out with them, I have always believed that as far as the bank is concerned I am the customer and I tell them what I want rather than them telling me, we do occasionally have words!! I do then tell them that Barclays is always next door!!

If you elect to pay via London you need to get a different payment mandate to the Perth one from as the London one is for £ and the Perth one is in AU$ the amount for the conversion is available on http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/990i/converter.htm the link on your Tracker page is perfect.

I would thank everyone on PIO for the assistance and encouragement that has made the journey a lot easier and with a bit of light hearted fun on the way, good luck to all those still waiting, it does pass ( In Hindsight always easy) very quickly.:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

 

KandM

Many Congratulations - Good Luck for the future. Gill