Taylors4

The thing that scares me about the 457 is being tied to your employer, but I had read if you have done your skills assessment, you could gain PR through the direct entry scheme before the two years is up - if that applies it makes it a bit more appealing. With the 489 we have to live regional, which isn't a problem, you get PR after you have worked 1 year full time and lived 2 years in the regional area, which for us, we feel this is better than being beholden to a particular employer,as a 457 visa. Unfortunately we don't have enough points to gain a PR visa in the first instance, OH really struggles with the IELTS, so we though the 489 a better option. Thanks for your advice.

Thanks for that, I can see exactly where you are coming from. Thanks for sharing your experience, we are too coming with a young family. Will prob forget about the job and crack on with the 489.

Anyone?

We are about to apply for a 489 regional visa BUT, just seen an ideal job - except that its in an area which we would be unable to work in due to the visa conditions. They are advertising the post as saying applicants from the UK/Ireland welcome and they will sponsor a 457. Don't know a great deal about 457 visa - other than the bad points (28 day rule), am I correct in thinking that if you have a skills assessment in place, you can apply for PR if they sponsor you, or have I got it completely wrong? Or should we just forget about the job and crack on with applying for 489? Any advice welcome

Yes, if you are family sponsored, it may not apply, you may just need to gather your evidence for the 2 year period. May be worth the call though to double check. Good luck and hope you hear soon!

Hi Candygirl, yep I don't know how to paste the actual link, but when you go onto the WA migration website, on the state sponsorship page to the right there is a link which says "Registration for recently arrived skilled migrants", when you click on this, the info below comes up. I'm assuming everyone who is state sponsored would have to do it. After obtaining your State sponsored skilled visa you are required to register your arrival into Western Australia by visiting the Skilled Migration WA office at: Level 2, 166 Murray Street Perth, Western Australia 6000 This registration of arrival will activate your two year commitment to Western Australia that all State sponsored skilled migrants agree to in accepting the Government of Western Australia’s offer of sponsorship. To successfully register you will need to the following documents: a copy of your signed State sponsorship agreement; passport; and proof of your permanent Western Australian address*. *Acceptable documents include: lease agreement; utilities bill (phone, water, electricity etc.); or Western Australian driver’s licence. For further information regarding this process or to book an appointment to register your arrival, please contact Skilled Migration WA by email atmigration@dtwd.wa.gov.au or by telephone on +61 8 9224 6593 or 13 23 98 from within Australia.

Hi Dibongo, I saw this on another thread the other day, you do have to register yourself at the Perth office, if you look on the WA state sponsorship page it tells you the address and opening times, you have to take in proof of where you are living - but it tells you what you need on the website, that then sets to clock ticking for your 2 year regional. So excited for you, hopefully it will be us saying this in a few weeks (months), just waiting for new passport to arrive before we apply, but got all the papers together. Keep us updated! Which shippers are you using and let us know how you get on!

Thanks Andy, this helps lots. I'm thinking then that the only downside of buying before we get PR would be that we will miss out on the first time buyers incentive (not sure what they officially call it, sorry).

So what do halifax want when it comes to this,i would rather not say to be honest,im really getting confused about all this,i cant see me getting the house sold soon so be looking to rent,im not sure if using an agent or if to get my parents to look after etc,and did i hear right that australia takes tax from you on what you earn on the rent? I would still be paying my mortgage,hoping that the rent im charging would cover it and also a bit left over to send over to oz,did i hear you get taxed on this,how would they know in oz,is there taxes to pay in uk also,there seems to be a lot of issue,info on just renting a house in the uk while living overseas is it worth it to be honest renting property in the uk or is it we have no choice and cant sell so other option is to rent? From what I've seen and read so far, I'm ASSUMING that if they find out if you don't tell them then what the mortgage company are within their right to recall the debt, as the condition of the mortgage would be in breach. You would then have to get an ex-pat mortgage from Oz to repay the debt. But, as everyone had said already, how can they find out if you continue to pay the mortgage, obviously if your tenant burnt your house to the ground, then you would be in a sticky situation, as they insurance probably wouldn't pay up (unless you had landlords insurance, but knowing what tow rags they all are, if they can find a loop hole not to pay up they will, i.e if they found out you hadn't told your lender). However, all of this is highly unlikely and I don't personally know anyone this has happened to. When I discussed renting our house with an agent, they said they needed to know if we had agreement from the lender - but didn't ask for evidence. They give you the tax form to fill in for being overseas. With regard to taxation, I'm pretty sure it would work the same as it does here, yes you are taxed, but on the profit, so you take what you have earned from your property and then deduct all your expenses; mortgage payments, insurance, life cover, repairs etc. So your tax bill may not be as high as what you might expect. It all probably depends on what you are earning in Aus too. There's another can of worms to consider! If I were you I'd me making a couple of calls to your mortgage provider, to an estate agent and ask them and get it from the horses mouth - it would only take half an hour and then at least you know what you can and can't do. Also if you know an accountant, ask their advice. Its a hard one as we are all trying to protect the equity we have in our house if we can't or don't want to sell at this present time. Selling in a depressed market, to then ship your money over to Oz on a crap exchange rate - doesn't do it for me at the moment. Its taken half a life time to get this far and I for one don't want to give that away. If I didn't have much equity though I'd sell as it probably isn't worth the it. Hard decisions ahead, good luck and if selling is what you need to do.

Thanks for that I'll look up the P85, I should be having a meeting soon with the our friend (accountant) who does our company accounts so will have a heap of questions for him on this matter. I'll post on here all info he gives as it may help people. Yep think you are right as in the UK, as it stands you get taxed on the profit you make from your rental income, so I think they take the amount of rental income, then deduct all your mortgage payments, landlords insurance, life insurance, repairs etc, then tax you on your overall profit, after these deductions.

I really don't think anyone discussing this topic is wanting to evade their tax responsibilities they are just wanting sound, factual advice. Obviously renting property offshore is going to attract a tax implication, but people want as much information about this. The next thread I was going to start are exactly what are the tax implications of renting overseas, as people need the facts. As far as I know, when you rent out your UK home you do fill in a tax form, informing the tax man you are overseas. From what I can gather so far, the country in which you are a resident is the country you file a tax form from, so as you are in Aus, you will be taxed in Aus, declaring your overseas income. As in Europe, they have have a double taxation agreement (which means you will not be taxed in both countries). But I'm not totally sure on any of this so I will start another thread and hopefully people who have done this will be able to shed a little more light on the situation for us. What happens though if you are a temporary resident and don't have PR status, what happens then? Also, think I have read that you should get in writing you property valuation before you leave the UK, as if you sell, you are liable for capital gains on the amount the property has increased AFTER you have left (not on the whole amount). If it goes down in value though, I'm pretty sure they won't be giving a refund! Again, if anyone has any further experience or advice on this issue - please let us all know.

OOps this is for Bwatt99

I think they do, I also consulted a mortgage broker and she said that at the moment if you have a mortgage with Halifax they will let you do it. This was my other option to transfer our mortgage to the Halifax as they allow you to sub-let. No sure of the charges if you are already a customer, but to get a new mortgage with them at the moment there was no fee and free legals, so its worth asking the question.

Really don't think any one here has implied they are going to evade paying tax!! All overseas income will be declared. You have to fill out a tax form to rent your house out whilst overseas anyhow, so don't really see what this comment has got to do with the subject in hand.

We are with First Direct on an offset loan. When I initially asked them and told them we were emigrating they said in no uncertain terms NO WAY - this was about 6 months ago. Now having thought about it, I changed my approach so yesterday I rang and explained we were going abroad for work purposes, probably for a year or so and we would be temporary residents of Australia (as we are applying for a 489 temporary visa, although of course we are hoping after 2 years to apply for PR). She said normally the answer was no, but as its on a case by case basis, as we had not missed any payments etc, THEY WOULD ALLOW US TO DO IT FOR 2 YEARS!! Hurrah! The only stipulation they gave was that we couldn't have access to the re-drawer facility. The rate would remain the same etc, So I am feeling much better about it now. She did say after the 2 years it would be reviewed. We are thinking they will then want all their money back, which we will have to address, as if we are still in Oz, it will presumably be difficult to get a mortgage again in the UK as we would not be residents. But, if we are earning ok money, we hopefully will be able to send money back to the UK and gain a bit on the exchange rate. Well that's the plan for us I think!

Congratulations Dibongo, well done - we are just about to submit ours now after a pain in the neck with getting SS granted. When are you planning on going?

Wow thanks to all that have responded to this thread, so glad I asked now. You have certainly highlighted a few pointers for me! Its all food for thought. You don't always know what could happen until you do it and hearing a few of your responses is making me think very seriously. Thanks you all

Probably a way off us contemplating this, but if we come out on a 489 visa (temp for 4 years) can we get a mortgage? I know it will mean a big deposit, but is it possible? If say after a year we love it and have jobs, sell a property in the UK as a deposit, OH has done the 1 year working which our visa stipulates (1 year working regional 2 years living regional, then we can apply for PR after the 2 year period). So we would like to get a mortgage after the 1 year period, would we be able to and would we have penalties for being on a temporary visa?

If you are what are your experiences, what are the pitfalls of doing this? We have a very small mortgage and frankly it will be a right pain to go through obtaining another mortgage before we leave the UK. I don't want slating, just want to know who has done it and what your experience has been. In all probability I'll probably end up 'doing the right thing' and shell out a few more grand to get a new loan which will let me sub-let, even though we don't owe a great deal and own 85% of our property. We could probably pay it off with savings, but that would mean we come out with nothing. All help appreciated!

My OH did his skills test here - think it was in October, I can't remember now what exactly he had to do, when you book your test though they do let you know. He took a few tools, level, line etc. He said if you were a tradesman there is nothing at all to worry about. They tell you on the day if you pass or not. Hardest part for us was getting there for 7.45am, we drove from Cheshire, so I got the tube into London whilst he did the test - tube is literally 3 mins from the College. He said everyone was really nice and it was a relaxed atmosphere. Good luck you'll be fine.

We are the same as you 489 regional, will try Mandurah first as we love it there and if we find finding work too hard to come by we will try Bunbury, not been to Bunbury though and I'm kicking myself as we nearly went, but my 2nd cousin said don't bother there's nothing there, but she's 20 and only ever thinks about shopping! We are in a rural area now so don't think it'll bother us that much. In the lap of the gods springs to mind - been really unsure about this move only because of jobs though so fingers crossed it all works out! Good luck to you, maybe see you there!!

Hi there Just wondering if you could have a look at our car and seeing if its worth bringing. We are hoping to come to WA in May/June. - year of manufacture = 2006 - make, model & variant = BMW 318d ES - silver - body type (coupe, convertible, etc) = 5 door - engine size & fuel type = 2L, Diesel - transmission = Manual - drive type (4WD, front wheel drive, etc) = rear wheel drive - mileage = Will be approx 65,000 miles - any special features, options or modification = Standard SE model - does it have aircon = Yes - realistic current UK market value = £7-8K - Australian RedBook value = Hard as they don't have exact model and spec, but guessing $10 - 15K - Australian market value = ? - which Australian state/city = Perth WA Obviously don't expect an answer anytime soon! Happy New Year

Wow congratulations, that is quick, did you front load your medicals and police checks? We are just about ready to apply, got the invite today, so we are going to get cracking double checking all the paperwork, then going for it. We are hoping to be going May/early June. Whereabouts are you going to settle?

So sorry for you loss, such awful news - heart goes out to you and your family. We don't live far from there, so many people have lost their lives on this section of the motorway. Our hearts always sink when they say its closed, you just know its a really bad accident. Hugs to you and yours, you have to be with you family at such a time and hope you find comfort in being back with them, safe trip and hugs xxx

I promised I'd let you all know, well we got our acceptance letter yesterday for WA SS - Happy Christmas !!!