patsmb

Sorry if this is posted elsewhere but can anyone recommend an insurance company to cover furniture & car going back to the UK

Gary PM me with an email address as getting the car on the road is complicated -we did it ourselves in 2001 but this time - we are going back in December but this time we have a firm to do the modifications

Scan as much as you can and carry them on a Laptop ,external hardrive or memory stick -that should include any old passports plus current ones etc Better too much documentation than too little

As an only child who packed up after 20 odd years in Oz to go back and look after me Mam ( I am from the north east so say it that way ) I personally would make sure I had citizenship then be up and away Your Mum could have many happy years yet but sharing those years will leave you happy with your decision I am sure

Does not say anything on the site but I might email DVLA and ask have found them helpful i was thinking because hubby has passed the criteria on his Aussie licence when he turned 70 then it might just be an exchange job

Just had a quick read of the DVLA site and you need to have been a resident of the uk for 185 days to exchange your license however you cans drive on your Aussie licence for 12 months thanks for that info Simmo that means hubby does not have to go through hoops to renew his uk license as soon as we get back

That's interesting that you can change an Aussie licence to a Uk one as we thought we would have to go through doctors test etc for my hubby as he has just turned 70 and his uk license has run out he has gone through the docs test for his Aussie one but when I contacted the DVLA to ask if our doctors assessment from oz would suffice in the uk they said no it has to be a uk registered doctor there was no mention that he could jut exchange his license for a euro one

If you have UK passports you have the right of abode but not automatic residency which does make a difference on some aspects of living in the UK you would need to apply for National Health cards to get put on to a doctors panel you can't just go to any doctors in the Uk IF you buy a house and then apply for any benefits you will be asked why you bought a property and did not use the money to live off take with you as much documentation as you can to show how you are severing ties with Australia it will help if you need to apply for residency

I posted a while ago about Centrelink pension portability OH and I willboth get full Centrelink pensions if we leave before January 1st, his will drop to 86% after 26 weeks The current legislation for full pension is that youneed to have 25 years working life between the age of 16-to retirement age ( doesnot matter if you have not worked all of those years seemingly )Its worked out inmonths i.e. 300 months = 25 years I currently have 301 months OH has 258 months as he was older than me when weemigrated We were told some time ago that the legislation is changingso that from january 1st we would need 35 years working life to maintainour pensions If we leave after that date then we would lose out bya bigger percentage I have tried to find out if the legaialtion has in factbeen passed but have had no success as i cant get through to the inetantioanl sectionon the phone at all ! Has anyone else cosnsidering returning to the UKany more info on this subject

If you fly out of Newcastle make sure you give your self plenty of time to connect ours 6pm flight was delayed nearly and hour and we ran through Heathrow to make 10pm flight no duty free that trip !

Malaysian airlines are good but we found last year when travelling out of Adelaide they weighed the hand luggage and said 5 kilos when website had said 7 had to off load from hand luggage to a the suitcase with a lengthy queue behind us ! we have don't the journey many times and must admit Singapore airlines win hands down for me every time

Scan them all including passport details and travel docs to a couple of memory sticks so that you always have accsess to them in an emergency I would carry them all but leave them in hotel safes etc if that's possible

You can get hospital records and most GPS will give you details of your history -we took all Xrays Scans etc when we went back in 2001 and found that usefull

Most banks give you the chance to DIY ie I can transfer from mu Aussie bank straight to my UK bank doing online banking -it costs $20 and has a daily rate of 75,000.00 worth getting the fascility on your Aussie account even if you don't use it

Thanks Bob that's appreciated -do you by the way deal with dogs coming into the UK

Reading the rules about taking our Shar Pei into the UK and the DEFRA site states the pet has to travel within 10 days of the certificate being issued by the vet We planned to leave our dog behind for a month with rellies but have in place all travel plans etc - could they be the ones who take her to the vet to get the cert as long as we have it all lined up with the vet Any info would be well received

Bob personally I think your being very honest and caring and not arrogant at all you obviously care about your precious cargo over profits -well done !

Check very carefully as we left the UK in 2006 and informed DLA in writing and phone calls that we were leaving We had 2 payments made into our UK bank after we left then got letters asking for the payments back -which we did repay

I think its often weight is the decider - we flew with Malaysian last September and website said 7kgs for hand luggage -got to check in and they only allowed us 5kgs I had to remove stuff from hand luggage and pack it into our suitcase -holding the queue up in the process so embarrassing as I had weighed the hand luggage before leaving home

Most airlines wont let you fly my son was turned back in Adelaide by Singapore airlines as he only had 5 months on it he tried all ways but got a firm NO

I have a query of a different nature -we own property in Adelaide but would like to try to buy a cheap property in the UK so that we can spend the summer there We would not rent it out but would we then be taxable in the UK ? I know we would have rates etc to pay but when we go back now we rent a furnished cottage and what we pay in that rent would cover the rates on our own place Any advice or info would be appreciated

Depending on who you bank with In Oz you can often set up your own internet transfers -we bank with Bank SA which is St Georges bank and it costs $20 a transaction I think going into the bank they charge $30 There is the fascilty to send up to $75,000 per day I would imagine that other banks do the same

It's often colder in the house than outside I would say bring winter clothes electric blankets etc if its SA your looking at Back when we first emigrated relies said we did not need winter clothes months later I waited for the train at Hallet Cove and wished I had my sheepskin coat!

We live in Adelaide and some beaches restrict the dogs in summer and they need to be kept on a lead but there are also designated dog beaches Does your Cockerpoo have spaniel ears I ask because we brought our cocker when we emigrated years ago and really had to keep an eye on his ears as he kept getting canker

Thanks for that will have a look -interesting that your tyke is able to fly to Glasgow I always thought it had to be Heathrow or is Glasgow and add on flight from there Would like our girl into Newcastle so will scout around