BIRDY35

Hi evets If you click over my AJT on my ticker, it will bring up the private message option and follow it from there

Hi, just wondering as the title says really. Looking at the option of purchasing furniture and associated household bits and pieces off someone that is leaving. Doesn't matter where in Melbourne as will be able to travel to meet. PM me if interested. Thanks

Hi, just wondering if anyone returning to the Uk between start of September and the end of January? Looking to see if anyone is interested in having the contents of their house bought as a job lot. We're coming over in September and looking to settle down in a rental by end of January. Able to travel, so anywhere in suburban Melbourne shouldn't be a problem.

Thankyou for all the great help and information - lots of things to consider. I understand what you are saying Marisawright that the catch point is in your intentions. Great to know that newtoallofthis - I had presumed it would all have to be certified.

Very interesting point MaggieMay24. This was the position we were coming from - having no intentions to breach the conditions of the visa. I have been surprised at the mention of bans and going against a future spousal visa application etc because I hadn't read this in connection with this form of entry. It has certainly made us wonder about it all. As I mentioned before, when we looked at our options we were presented with the onshore and offshore options. Even on the immigration website I have seen nothing documenting these consequences for entering in this way?

Thankyou for the info on documents. This issue of doing something against the law is one that I find hard to fully get my head around as we have no intention of doing anything illegal. Due to time restrictions and inforseen circumstances, we have chosen to take the onshore partner visa application route. I understand that entering on a tourist visa with an intention to then apply for a visa is using it for a different intent and that immigation do not want people arriving in the country and having to stay while their visa is processed. However my husband has no intent of staying in the country illegally and will follow the proper legal channels. The route of applying for a spouse visa onshore is made available by the Australian government and I'm not sure how else someone enters the country to then take this onshore application route? For what purpose do they have it available if they are not happy for people to take this application option? I'm sure someone will be along shortly to set me right on this but right from the start it seemed clear that there were two options for us - either an onshore or offshore partner visa application and it hadn't occured to me that we were considering doing something against the law.

Will be interested in the answers to this as you sound like you may be in a similar situation to ours. Myself and children are Australian citizens and are heading back and I hadn't anticipated any problems. I rightly or wrongly assumed that as Australian citizens you are well within your rights to then register as residents if you decide once you are there? I presume you may be planning to enter on a visitor visa with your family and then apply for a partner visa/bridging visa onshore? Have seen some advice on here about the partner(non Australian citizen) not carrying documents that would suggest their intention is to apply for a visa once they are in the country but not sure what the implications are if immigration suspect this. It's not that you are intending on doing anything illegally if this is the case. I presume it would certainly flag up your intentions to immigration if you havn't got a return flight booked.

Hi, just looking for some help from the people with all the visa experience on this forum! We are travelling to Australia and my husband will be applying for a spouse visa onshore once he arrives - we have decided to take this route for a few different reasons. My question is regarding document certification and who can certify them. We don't have a mortgage so to prove joint property ownership, we will need to present our house/farm deeds and assciciated documents. These particular documents aren't something that I am happy to travel with due to the ramifications of them being lost at any point, and yet from what I can gather on the various sites, the copies need to be certified in Australia when the application is being made in Australia. I'm happy to carry the originals of other documents so it is these in particular I am concerned about. Has anyone had any experience of getting documents certified here for an onshore application in Oz? It does specify a solicitor or magistrate etc in either country on the government site but does anyone know if they are country specifc, depending on where the application is being made? Thanks in advance

Thankyou G'bye Grey Sky - I will update on here even about the issues I've posted about in case it is of any help to anyone else in a similar situation. As far as not burning any bridges, it's been a conscious decision to do it that way. My husband is English and very aware that we have no idea how this is going to work out and if he'll even like Australia. Very different living there to going back for 6 weeks to visit family! At first I felt the only way to do it properly and give ourselves a fair chance was to wrap everything up here - but it has become pretty clear that even though we are going to throw ourselves into our time over there, it will be very much a fact finding mission on if we want to do it permanently and if things will open up and we can have a good standard of living there. SO much more hassle doing it this way though! My family and friends are aware that this is the case but I take your point about some of the others - we're trying very hard to be objective in all of this.

Thanks everybody - and particularly for the advice about Alan Collett. I will try and work our how to get in touch with him on here. I definitely need to find someone or some accountancy group that has good knowledge of the tax implications between countries.

Thanks Bungo - I was under the impression that Vista has been able to give some general information on these sort of things but maybe mistaken. Maybe someone will come along with a recommendation of where is a better place to ask some of these questions?

Hi, just after some general information and advice please. Am aware I will may probably need to seek out some specialist tax help from yourselves once we have made the move, but just trying to work out what to expect and what I need to have in place before we leave. We are heading to Australia later in the year initially for the period of 12 months to see if it is going to work out for us. I and my children are Australian citizens and expect that we would register as residents once there if that is what makes more sense as far as taxation and living in general. My husband is a UK citizen and is going to go down the onshore visa application route once we are there. As a result of not being certain we are going to immigrate permenantly, we are going to have to leave things running on here in the UK for the short term. Things left ticking over in the UK would be as follows: A home which we have friends organised to house sit and will repay us the expenses. Would these be considered income in Oz if it was just a personal arrangement of reimbursing expenses rather than a rental agreement? Land which receives a rental income that goes into a limited company Two personally owned rental properties from which we would be receiving rental income/ paying off BTL mortgages Two limited companies of which we are both directors. The plan is to mainly fund the trip from savings and we will not be taking a wage out of the companies but would be taking a lump sum dividend out of one of the companies as income. Junior stocks and shares ISAs for the children Stocks and shares ISAs Small number of shares which are on a reinvestment of the dividends basis Trading accounts registered in the UK from which I hope to withdraw some additional income. Then the general savings accounts etc on which income is fairly straight forward. I have so may questions as don't know how it will work and where to start but the main ones are how the tax will work in tandem with Australia. Our accountant will do the limited company tax returns and I presume also our personal tax for the UK on any income received. Will the Australian tax office take an interest and need all the information on the companies/company accounts we are directors of, or just be concerned about any income/dividends received from these? If a home is held in joint names and I was to bcome resident and my husband still on a bridging visa, what capital gains implications are there on properties? Similarly on the land that is held in joint names? As far as stocks and shares ISA investments, will they keep under the tax free wrapper in the UK should we return to live, and would they be considered as taxable in Oz if any increase in value is just on paper and not actually realised and withdrawn? Similarly with the shares, do they need to be declared in Australia, or just if they are sold? So sorry for the jumble - just aware that it could all be quite messy if we don't have it sorted before we go. Thankyou in advance for any advice received!

That thread is great Snifter - thanks for all the help. Now just got to start getting it sorted!

Just one more question - if we were to go ahead and get the offshore visa application rolling, once it is granted does anyone know how long you have to activate it/make the move, if indeed there is a limit at all?

Some fantastic information thankyou everyone. Potentially we are looking at maybe being there by August so looks like it would have to be an onshore application. It's a tricky one with earnings and main earners as we have run our own business and would be heading over with a lump sum to first of all live off and picking up some casual work as and when to help along a bit. Then hopefully purchase or set up our own business over there at some point once we are settled. Am hoping this wouldn't cause complications as to who would be the main earner etc if this is something that has to be clearly addressed on the application. Interesting point Snifter about not stating your intent on entering and carrying supporting evidence - it all seems a bit underhand in a way. What else are you meant to do if circumstances mean it's not a viable option to stay on in the UK for another year you wait! So you are advising that it's not a good idea to tell them on entering Australia with a visitors visa, that we are intending to apply for a partner visa?

Thankyou both for you replies. I have a British passport already so that part is sorted. What I am confused about is if we decide to go for the onshore application, does that mean that my husband would just enter Australia on the usual visitors visa that you purchase before you leave? I have visions of all sorts of issues at customs when we state that he is intending to apply to stay! Thankyou for the offer Seppo which I may just take you up on if we get going with it - I wonder did you do an onshore application and did you just do the process yourself rather than use a consultant? Also, is it under the proviso of you 'sponsoring' your partner, or do they not really take financial provisions into consideration? Apologies for all the questions.

Hi, just wondering if anyone has had any experience with, or can tell me about the process of getting a spousal visa for Australia. I am finding it hard to get clear information off the Australian Government website as to what is required. I am Australian and my husband is a UK citizen. We have been married and living in the UK for 15 years. We have two children who both have UK/Australian dual nationalities. Now looking at moving to Oz permanantly and wondering if it is relatively straightforward or would it potentially be a lengthy drawn out process? I can't find any information on any 'minimum requirements' for him or even how long the process would take? Thankyou in advance

Hi, I'm new on this site and am needing some help in a decision. Have posted in another forum but am wondering if it is more appropriate here as it basically comes down to the finances, having a young family and wanting to keep some security for them - needing some objective opinions from those you have much more idea than I have on how things are finance wise and cost of living in OZ! As it stands, I am Australian and lived in the UK for over 10 years. My husband and I have a young family run a farming business and would be reasonably looking to bring £700000-800000 with us if we should choose to sell up and move our family to Melbourne. My husband has NO paper qualifications to fall back on and I have a nursing degree for which I would have to look at doing a return to nursing course before being qualified to practice - I believe this is at least 6 months full time? We would have to look at buying an business with an established cashflow and also fund a house - whether rental or buying at this point. My question is, is this a foolhardy move to even consider making, given the reduced spending power of the pound in Australia? Does it seem reasonable to be able to purchase both a house and a business that gives a reasonable standard of living with these funds? Can you see it being a situation that very quickly the funds that we have worked hard to build up would be eroded far quicker than we ever imagined? Has anyone had any experience of purchasing a business in Australia? Has anyone had experience on returning to Nursing after a long (7 year) break? What sort of salary do you start on now in Nursing? We would look to live reasonable driving distance from my family members in Glen Iris and Hawthorn. We have a share in a company that could continue to give an income from the UK but would net an additional £350000 to bring over. Is it best to look at bringing it all over now and putting it into a business or to keep it for security? I'm finding it hard to be clear on what business selling prices tend to be in Oz, in relation to their turnover and profits. Questions, questions, questions and any views very much appreciated! My husband currently works 7 days a week, 50 weeks of the year and we have no life in some ways as far as enjoying life and being able to go anywhere - it's really pushing this immigation issue to the forefront and I want to make the best informed decision I can for my family.

I see you came from Manchester Cal - we're even further North in cold wet (but also beautiful) Cumbria! North of England to QLD - that's quite a change isn't it:) So glad it worked out for you. We would be heading with a significant amount of financial back up but it's this issue of not having qualifications to use when we go that makes me wonder if it could reasonably work?

Thank you for you reply. I think I was expecting opinions along the lines of go for it, you only live once, so really interesting that that you gauge the risk as a little high - makes me feel not so silly for feeling like that! When you have a young family, they and their security have to come first. Just not sure if I could cope with the lonliness and feeling like I am living in cold and rain for 8 months of the year, for the rest of my life. A decision I am willing to make though if it really is the best option.

Hi, really needing some advice on the best decision to make for our family. Feel like I have become so confused and would really welcome some objective thoughts and opinions. I am Australian and married and lived in North of England for 10 years. We have 2 young children and feel my oldest is reaching an age that is getting to the max for uprooting her to a new life on the other side of the world. While happy here (in the general sense of the word) I travel home(melbourne) every year and find it harder every time to come back . I really struggle with the weather and the lack of sunshine, and also the impact on lifestyle that this has. I am also very aware that things are very different when living in a place as opposed to holidaying and things have changed hugely in 10 years. I really struggle with leaving family and lifelong friends STILL! We have family on both sides and family is a huge part of our lives. My parents in OZ are by far the more involved grandparents and would be a big part of the childresn lives if we moved. There would be a lot of involvment with my extended family. On the other hand, the children have cousins here and are very close to them. So strong family ties on both sides. My husband has a farming business and has no other qualifications. He works 7 days a week, 11 hours a day, 50 weeks of the year, so we can go nowhere as a family for a day, night, weekend at all apart from one week holiday a year. He is however in and out of the house so sees a fair bit of the children. I have a nursing degree(Australia) and have had to let my registration in the UK go after having children - I last worked in nursing here 7 years ago. Has anyone had any experience in return to nursing in Oz and what it is like finding a job after? If we moved and sold up we would reasonably have £700000- 800000 to bring with us - this would need to finance a house and also purchase a business as we would need an established business with cashflow. Has anyone had experience of buying a business there? We have a share in anther business that would raise £350000 if sold or bring in £50000 pa before tax if kept - I presume we would have to pay income tax in Oz on this? I am not up on what is required for a reasonable standard of living with two children and am not sure what option would be best - bring the money and plough it into an Australian business or keep it as security of income? Is this a reasonable ammount to do this on or would it actually be much harder than we would expect due to the living costs in Melbourne now? My family are in Glen Iris and Hawthorn and would like to live within reasonable distance from them - I have no idea of the areas that are more affordable around about. Really aware that we are very fortunate but on the other hand in a situation that I find impossible to weigh up and see clearly in. Do we just take the leap, make the move and work really hard to make things work or am I risking everything we've built up by by my husbands hard slog. I fear having rose tinted glasses and finding that actually, the base we have is eroded away as the spending power is much less in Oz than in the UK. I know there is risk to every option but really needing some clearheaded views. What would you honestly do in this situation and knowing what you know now? I really want the Australian upbringing and opportunities for my kids but I know the UK has many to offer too. Thankyou in advance - I need some straight talking and views that I havn't taken into consideration!