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Many thanks all. I should have added that I am married to an Australian and we have joint bank accounts with savings there - hopefully that means my ties are sufficient enough to be granted a one-year RRV!

Hi JetBlast, The police check and medical was done in around April 2016. Note that I first entered Australia in April 2013 on a 457. I traveled in and out of the country regularly up until moving to the U.S. The last time being in June 2017, 6 months after I received PR and 3 months before I came to the U.S.

Hi all, I obtained Australian permanent residency status in December 2016. I moved to the U.S. for work in September 2017. I have a few questions about returning to Australia: What is the latest I could move back to Australia without needing to re-apply for residency and / or another visa type? If, for example, I decided to move back in September 2021 - a total of 4 years out of the country and almost 5 years since gaining permanent residency - what would my options be for re-entry? Many thanks!

Hi All, I am both a British and Australian citizen. I left my UK job and moved permanently to Australia in April 2013. I intended to find a job here however another UK company approached me soon after arriving and offered me a deal I couldn't refuse to work for them (from home in Australia). I invoice them every month and they pay me in Pounds, but I exchange and transfer this straight to my Australian bank account each month using Moneycorp. So my question is, who do I pay tax to? UK or Australian government? Do I have to pay tax twice? Regards, Chris.

Hi ktj01, Thanks for your reply. Nice to hear of someone in a similar situation! I arrived in Sydney last Thursday evening 18th April. Our accommodation is in Rushcutters Bay which is really handy for the city and also the eastern bays / beaches. I've been blessed with 3 days of beautiful weather and one day of heavy rain (it's got to rain some times!) which has been a seriously nice change from the weather we had during our last few months in London. I had a great first day wondering around the city; went into NAB and collected my debit card. I signed up for a free migrant bank account before I travelled. Their service was excellent and everything was ready for me when I arrived. I also picked up a drivers license application from the RTA office, completed a tax reference number application (online) and also downloaded a form to register for Medicare. You need to provide two or three original forms of identification for each such as a birth certificate / passport etc. I'll let you know whether I have any issues with any of these although they look fairly straight forward. In regards to my general feeling of being back; I'm still really excited and am enjoying exploring the city. I haven't found it too much of a culture shock to be honest and I do feel quite at home. I think this is helped by all the 'blast from the past' things I keep having or noticing from my childhood such as: - the weird noise the pedestrian crossings make - Cadburys Cherry Ripes (why don't they make these in Europe!?) - Gaytime ice creams! One thing that has been very confusing is the cost of everything compared to the UK. Basically everything is very expensive compared to the UK particularly food, clothes, rent, bills, cars. I would highly recommend not converting everything back into pounds before you buy as it just pointless and inaccurate due to the higher salaries that are available here. I have decided to live my first month fairly frugally but keep track of what I'm spending to see how things stack up. I compiled a spreadsheet of income vs. costs before I travelled to give me a rough idea and it appears that I'll have much more disposable income here than I did in the UK. I can send this to you if you PM me you email address. Other things I've noticed is that Australians drive EVERYWHERE which basically cripples what is a fairly good bus network. Due to the terrain that Sydney is built on an amazing public transport system would be impossible to build, however I don't think it's as bad as everyone makes out. The ferry is highly under-rated. The trains aren't particularly good nor frequent but if you live centrally then you can walk most places. Traffic doesn't seem to be too bad on the eastern side of the city but I have heard that out west it can be pretty horrendous. There is also a huge food culture here, so people eat out 3-4 times a week. What is nice is that the majority of restaurants are privately owned as opposed to chains like Pizza Express, Nandos, Strada etc. that you get in the UK. The variety of food available is amazing and from the few meals I've had the quality has been excellent. Are you back here already or thinking about it? Let me know if you have any other questions. I'd be happy to meet up with you for a drink when you do arrive - need to make some friends! Chris.

The comments from the Brits trying to turn the forum about 'Poms in Oz' into 'Poms in the UK'.

I'm totally with you and can't wait to experience it for myself on the 9th April! Ignore the other comments!

Hi everyone! My partner and I are moving to Sydney in 3 weeks’ time. I am an Australian but have lived in the UK for the last 22 years. My partner, who is a British citizen, has secured a transfer with his employer, so we are ecstatic and extremely grateful at our opportunity to move back with one of us having a job waiting and CBD accommodation covered for the first month - we cannot wait! I have returned to Australia on holiday a number of times over the years and each time have left longing to return permanently. I’m really interested to experience day-to-day life in Sydney as an adult (I was 10 when I moved to the UK) and to see how much things have changed and how true my memories of the place correspond to reality! I read a lot of negative comments about the Sydney traffic, crowds, costs and even the weather (!?) and what I’d say in response is come and live in London and see what an expensive, overcrowded, congested, gloomy place it is! Granted you can’t beat England on a warm summer’s day but it’s only like that for two months of the year (if you’re lucky!) As they say, the grass is always greener on the other side, but I truly believe it is – we’ll see! Anyway, I’ve found loads of really useful information on this forum which has helped us with shipping, currency, transport etc, so I’m keen to give back and share details of our migration experience over the coming weeks and offer any tips we note which will make anyone else’s migration that little but easier. See you all down under! :biggrin:

Hi all, I am an Australian citizen but have lived in the UK since I was 5 years old (I'm 27 now!). I'm looking to return to Australia this year and am wondering what I actually need (other than my citizenship and a bank account) to be able to work? Is there a national insurance number equivalent? Do they have P45s, P60s etc? I've tried a Google search for this information but haven't been able to find anything. Regards, Chris.

Hi Craig, Thanks for the info. The car build date is September 1989. We're just waiting for my partner to get his work transfer through (around April 2013) then we need to start planning the move. Will be in touch nearer the time! Thanks again.

Sorry, I should add that I intend to keep the car for a very long time as a rare and appreciating classic. I also intend to slowly restore it which should also increase it's value somewhat (albeit not by a massive amount).

Hi, 1989 325i Convertible 2.5L Petrol Automatic RWD 100000 miles (160000km) No air-con (but a convertible!) worth £4500 in the UK Exact model isn't listed on red book but using an similar model and adding a thousand dollars for convertible $5-8000 Market value according to carsales.com.au is circa. $12000