KZ1

I can also recommend Wise. Had an account for a few years & found them to be great. Within the App you can have an AUD & GBP ( + others) accounts & transfer funds instantly & at the interbank rate. The only issue to watch is drawing cash. For an Aust issued card the limit is 2 cash withdrawals per month & under $350 total, before a 1.75% fee kicks in, but there are easy work-arounds.

[quote So, I'd say you wouldn't have much trouble getting a job back in the UK - the only problem you might have, is getting a job back in Sydney if you don't settle in the UK. Absolutely spot on advice from Marisa.

ILR lapses after 2 years out of the UK

Registration is about $650 for a 4 cylinder car. That includes compulsory 3rd party insurance, which covers personal injury only, not damage to other parties vehicle. There is no MoT equivalent in QLD. You must maintain a car in roadworthy condition, but there is no annual inspection. Other states are different.

Moneycorp are a company. I used to use them, but changed to OFX as they had better rates.

For transfers I have used OFX for the past few years, with an average of at least 1 transfer per month. I highly recommend OFX. www.ofx.com Occasionally compare rates with other companies, and OFX have always been best. Transfers usually take about 24 hours. Also they are listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, so you are dealing with a Public Company, not some private operation.

Interesting to see comments re requirement to travel in/out of Australia on an Aust passport. Wife travelled in/out of Aust several times for 15 years on UK passport (while based in UK), even though an Aust citizen for over 20 years. (Had never held an Australian passport as she could not see the point in paying for two). Each time on entry to Aust the Australian citizenship box was ticked, requiring immigration to go and look up their records to confirm. Each time they recommended she get an Australian passport as it would make transit through immigration quicker (& no doubt easier for them), but at no time were we told it was a "requirement"

Would have thought that as she has a UK birth certificate, it would be a case of simply applying for a British passport Only reason I can think of why she would not have full UK citizenship is if neither parent had the right to stay in the UK at time of her birth (i.e. They were tourists)

Kept Aussie cards while in the UK for 15 years with no problems whatsoever.

NSP, is this trip anything more than a Pub crawl?

Great news. When the removalist & airfares are booked, you really feel like its all happening

try a specialist such as Shannon's www.shannons.com.au for an insurance quote . the other costs will be your import duty and probably a valuation fee. Then there will be registration. There is a thread on here where you can get an estimate of costs from Iron Lady imports on the likely costs even after all the costs it would probably be worth more in Aust than the UK should you decide to sell it. Anyway there are more fine days in Aust to enjoy a car like that.

If someone has a passport they obviously already have citizenship. On returning to the UK, there will a a habitual resident test before any benefits. That is you will need to demonstrate that it is your main residence and that you actually live in the UK. This thread explains it all: http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/moving-back-uk/54856-habitual-residency-test.html

Absolutely agree with gbuss. You are not wasting your time. I for one have enjoyed reading your posts. On a forum you will always get people with extreme views (either way) who will not listen to or are not interested in, reasoned objective comments...ignore them.

Varies greatly. My fastest is 17 minutes (no checked bags) & worst is 3 1/2 hours. Average about an hour. Lots of flights arrive in the morning, so it can get very busy.

You can apply for a spouse visa from within the UK. http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/partners-families/citizens-settled/spouse-cp/applying-in-uk/ The OP's wife has 2 years to run on a ancestry visa, so that would be the best route to enter, then they can all travel together (which is what they are trying to do) & she has the right to seek work. Once settled & OP meets the income requirements, they can apply to transfer to the Spouse Visa.

maybe particular seats. Check out http://www.seatguru.com/ for advice & comments on seats for particular aircraft with most airlines. Its great for making sure you don't get a dodgy seat.

She would need to live in the UK on a relevant visa such as Ancestry or Spouse for 5 years, then could apply for "settlement". Once settlement has been granted she could apply for British citizenship. The Home Office has been taking lessons from Australia on how to complicate bureaucracy.

Your wife can change to the spouse visa from within the UK, once you are both settled. The Ancestry visa will get her in at the same time as you and she will have the right to work. Check out the UKBA.homeoffice.gov.uk web pages as they have all the info you are looking for.

I would look at the values carefully before taking it

Rather than looking at how much you would lose selling it - look at how much you would get for the car here and add the costs of shipping etc. then look at what sort of car you could get in the UK for the same money. being a top range Captiva, it should be easy to sell here. You may lose more by taking it

If your wife can enter on an ancestory visa, that would be the logical way to go. That should also give her the right to work.

Yes, much harder than it used to be. Presumably you have read the Home Office fact sheet http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/IDIs/chp8-annex/section-FM-1.7.pdf The financial requirements can be met by combining different factors . (earned income / rental income / cash savings) Earned income must be in the UK. Rental income can be anywhere If you have enough cash savings (£62,500) no income is required You can combine the above e.g part savings & lower income There is a chart setting out the possible combinations in the fact sheet.

Hi Ben Cant answer re the baby bonus. Re cars, you will both be eligible for a car each. To get import approval you will need to have owned & used the car for 12 months prior (except for vehicles manufactured before 1989 when the 12 month rule does not apply). The cars you suggest are excellent options, but also maybe consider a Q7. My personal opinion is that they are a bit big for UK roads, but are fine (& popular) here. Something that depreciates quickly in the UK would represent best value, so maybe something that will be just out of warranty at the time of shipping. Stick with BMW, Merc, Audi or Range Rover & you will not go too far wrong. Get as close to Aust specification as possible (i.e. fully optioned with an engine that was available in Australia.) will make it easier to sell when the time comes. There is a great post by Kakimoto33 (from Iron Lady) about how to buy to maximise profit.. It is post #1055 on the following thread: http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/transp...-know-106.html

Unfortunately asking for Aust exp is very common in a lot of industries. Where there are a number of applicants, the ones with local experience will be given preference. Also as a general rule Aussies will give a job to another Aussie first, even if someone else is more qualified. There is also an element of locals not wanting to be shown up by more experienced candidates from overseas. There are a number of threads on here about how to mitigate the problem, such as taking all references to UK out of your CV, make sure your CV is in Australian format etc