Durhamlad
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UK Child Passport - New Online Service - Grandparents Documents
Durhamlad replied to gmx's topic in Kids Down Under
Applied on line to renew mine and my wife's UK passports from Oz. Very easy to do. But now have to send the Passport office with our expiring passports and photo copies of out Oz passports which again is easy. Now trying find out which is the best courier service for sending the old passports to the UK with the paper work and also can you send both passports and paperwork, packaged and addressed individually, in one package as we have different PEX numbers (application reference numbers) in the UK address. Can anyone help out. Thanks David -
Sorry it does not work like that, each payment from one provider is the same in UK pounds each month but when converted to $A is different each month depending on exchange rate. Correct you can try to hide accounts etc but get caught out and you could be in trouble, unlikely but even have your visa cancelled.
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Thanks for the quick replies. Just a couple of observations that could be useful. I have not applied for the Australian pension yet just preparing for when I do later in the year. At the present any time a pension payment is credited into our UK bank, remember 5 payments a month for us, I have to record it and check the exchange rate from the tax office website on that day and convert the payment to $A. I do not have to bring it over to OZ, I can leave it in the UK or bring it over at a time to suite me which I do when the rate suites me. There is also a average monthly and average yearly exchange rate available which can be used but I am told the proper way is using the daily rate, my choice. At the end of the Oz tax year we have to add all these payments up and pass the years earnings on to the Australian tax office and pay any tax due. Any interest on any UK funds should also be converted to $A and added on as income as well. I have started to look at the pension application form and you have to give information on all bank accounts held in both the UK and Oz together quote - with evidence from your financial institution that shows your current account balance, account number and account holder name(s) for each account held. Copies can be provided. ATM slips are not acceptable. Thanks guys
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Came over to Australia as pensioners and will have been here for 10 yrs in November and can then claim a Australian pension. To date we have had our UK pensions, state and private, paid into a UK bank which I have then transferred to our Australian bank at various times when the exchange suited us. We have five small pensions from different providers each month so were thinking of trying to make things easier for ourselves by asking our pension providers to send our pensions direct but we would have transfer fees to pay for each transfer as well as no control over the exchange rate. The other option is to keep doing as we currently do but how does this work with the Australian pension as our UK income would vary so much. Do you have to inform Centrelink every time we receive a UK payment converted to $A so the Australian pension would be adjusted. Any advice would be most welcome. David
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Only prescriptions for medications on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme are cheaper, all other medicines are not.
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The Commonwealth Seniors Health Card is subject to an income test which is indexed on 20 September each year and includes: adjusted taxable income, and a deemed amount from account based income streams There is no assets test. You should have an annual income of less than: $52,273 for singles $83,636 for couples combined, or $104,546 for couples combined, who are separated by illness or respite care, or where one partner is in prison The income limit is increased by $639.60 for each dependent child you care for.
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Thanks Alan, Yes we are claiming the UPP tax deduction. David
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Hi. We are permanent residents on parent visas and have been in Oz for just over two years. Our total income is from UK pensions which are paid into a UK bank account which I then transfer to our Oz bank account every month. We pay no UK tax on these pensions but have to pay Oz tax on them. We are both 70 yrs old but can not claim any Oz benefits until we have been here for ten years e.g. rent allowance, seniors and pensioners tax offset etc. so we only have the basic tax allowance of $18,200 each and pay tax on the amount over this. Is anyone else in the same position who can let me know if I am missing anything or is this correct. David David
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I think you have to be a permanent resident for 4 years not 5. Quote from Citizenship web site If you became a permanent resident on or after 1 July 2007 the residence requirement is: You must have been living in Australia on a valid Australian visa for 4 years immediately before applying, including 1 year as a permanent resident, and You must not have been absent from Australia for more than 1 year during the 4 year period, including no more than 90 days in the year immediately before applying.
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Alan Thanks for the prompt reply. Yes we are here on a sub class 143 permanent visa, and none of our UK pensions income is being taxed in the UK, and I understand we will have to pay tax here in Oz but just wondered if there were any Oz tax allowances we should be claiming apart from the allowance for foreign pension income with an undeducted purchase price. Thanks again David
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At the end of June 2013 we had been here for the 1st complete Oz tax year and not understanding the tax system have had an accountant do our tax return for us. We are both well past retirement age and our total income is made up of various UK pensions which go into our UK bank which I then transfer to Oz when I see the exchange move upwards. My query is that the paperwork from the accountant looks pretty straight forward, we have received the allowance for foreign pension income with an undeducted purchase price but nothing else. Just wondered if anyone else on the forum had been able to claim any other allowances, especially the Seniors and Pensioners tax offset (SAPTO) as this would make quite a difference. David
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Before we moved permanently over to Oz we had all of our holidays here, at least once a year for the last 10 years, and we always received a Medicare card for the time we were here. But we were always told it did not give us full cover eg you were not covered for hospital in-patient hospital treatment. David
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Very interesting and would like to know if anyone has managed to obtain the Commonwealth Seniors Card as we have tried at least twice at two different Centrelink offices and have always been told that we need to be resident here for two years to qualify for the card. See below taken from the Centrelink website and the 2nd requirement which we are told is two years. Commonwealth Seniors Health Card eligibility To qualify for a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card you must meet specific requirements. To qualify, you must: be an Australian resident and currently living in Australia and not be subject to a newly arrived resident’s waiting period and have reached age-pension age but not qualify for a payment from us or from the Department of Veterans' Affairs and provide us with your and your partner's tax file numbers, or be granted an exemption from providing your and your partner's tax file numbers, and have an annual adjusted taxable income* of less than: $50 000 (singles) $80 000 (couples, combined), or $100 000 (couples, combined, for couples separated by illness or respite care or of whom one partner is in prison). *This limit is increased by $639.60 for each dependent child you care for. Note: Dependants or partners of Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders are not eligible for concessions using the cardholder’s card. David
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No tax expert either but told by the UK tax authorities that no way could my Teachers or NHS pensions be paid without deduction of UK tax as they are government paid. Any private pension could be paid tax free though. David
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Arrived in Cairns a week ago but we will be moving down to Brisbane early next year and looking for a place to buy. Don't know what part of Brisbane yet as the son and his family have still to find a place first then we will look for something for us in the same area. Got a bit of a shock in a email from our removal company informing us our belongings are expected to arrive in Brisbane on the 31st December, a few weeks earlier than we expected and no way will we have any accommodation by then so we may have to look at putting our things into storage for a while. Also can't decide whether to transfer the money across from our UK house sale or leave it in the UK until we find something to buy over here. David & Sheila
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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
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:biggrin: SOLD THE HOUSE Yes we have finally done it, sold the house and moved out today. Had the removers collect our household belongings Tuesday and Wednesday and completed the sale and moved out today. Now homeless but have a very healthy bank balance. Things happened very quickly with only two people in the chain before us and both cash buyers so it has been very hectic and very hard suddenly having to do this very quickly. We never believed the house would sell so quickly, about 4 months after marketing it, and at the price we got so anyone still trying to sell be positive you never know when it will happen. Got flights booked to Cairns next Wednesday so will be landing in Oz a week today. Even been able to use air miles for the flights. Going to settle in/near Brisbane hopefully before Christmas with our Son, Daughter in Law and two Grand Children (plus a third on the way) initially in rented accommodation to we find somewhere to buy. Just need the exchange rate to improve now. Good luck to all who are still trying to sell their homes. David
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Not shipped a car but hoping to ship a folding caravan which comes under the same regulations as cars so looked into it and the answer I have received from all removal companies is yes you can ship a car and your belongings in one container. The car goes in first then a bulkhead is built in front of it, your belongings go in next and if need be another bulkhead is built in front of them. If there is enough space it is also possible for a platform to be built above your vehicle for putting boxes of your belongings on. You are not allowed to put your belongings inside the car only things car related. This link should show you what I mean. http://www.pssremovals.com/car_shipping_to_australia.php
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But you can import a car of any age under different schemes to the old car one. The only problem could be bringing your vehicle up to the Australian standard, which you do not have to do under the old car scheme unless you wish to use it on their roads, but others on here have taken their cars across. David
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I was told by Medicare that if you register as a tourist under the reciprocal health agreement you are not fully covered, eg. at a hospital you are only covered for outpatient treatment and not for inpatient treatment so if possible you do need travel/health insurance. But there are also some outpatient treatments which can mean a overnight stay in the hospital without being admitted as an impatient. David
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Take your point Mike, the trouble is if we go for a holiday of say 6 months I doubt we would be able to obtain insurance at our age, over 65s, or it would cost far to much. A travel agent told me just to book normal travel insurance, say multi trip for 30 days, and it would just expire at the end of the 30 days while you are over in Oz but I don't know what you could do about the return leg. David
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Going to Oz before Christmas even if my house is not sold, but just for a holiday and to validate our Visas, so when there will enrol in Medicare etc That probably means we do not need travel insurance to cover us when in Oz but just for the journey out. So you lucky people who are already in Oz, or anyone about to set of, did you take out one way travel insurance and if so can you recommend a company. David
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What about old style televisions, we have a couple of portables we were thinking of taking but never thought about checking to see if they would work in Oz. We were told our flat screen LCD would but we would have to tune the sound into the German setting, something to do with Oz and German sound frequencies being the same. David
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Preparation in case we are lucky and find a buyer for our house. Can anyone suggest what preparation we can be doing here in the UK so if we ever have to act quickly we would know what to do Things like Income tax, bank accounts, direct debits, NIC etc. etc. Anything really. David
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You can open a current account called NAB Classic Banking and also a internet account called a NABiSaver. The NABiSaver pays 5.65% for three months then 4.65% interest after that. The NAB Classic account is a current account and only pays 0.01% interest. So you transfer your funds from the UK to the iSaver account for the interest then when you are in Oz and need to spend you have to go on line and transfer funds over from the iSaver to the NAB Classic current account which you use as you would do here in the UK. You can not withdraw funds straight out of the iSaver account so using this method you have to be happy to bank on line. You can set up a transfer to any Oz account so you could just open the NAB current account and transfer funds to it. NAB web site link below. https://www.nab.com.au/wps/wcm/connect/nab/nab/home/personal_finance/15/23/1 David