jawaustralia

Wow, 14 months...is that a ballpark range of how long it takes? In the long run I know the time will fly but that is a while

Hi I am an aussie and my wife is British. We will be applying for her subclass 309 visa through the Australian High Commission in London in the next month. The question I have is any advice on the process or any recommendations for using an agent or not. Not sure whether to use an agent, but I guess it will save mistakes being made in the process. Also I expect it will take some time, maybe 6-9 months so we both just keep working in the the meantime. Any advice would be great on this process? Since the spouse/309 visa is a bit unique and not a highly skilled visa I find less information on the internet about it. Cheers James.

Hi guys Trying to work out the best advice around shipping, got a one beddie flat in London, two bikes, bed, sofa, couple of appliances and a wardrobe full of clothes...want to get our stuff shipped to Sydney. Any advice on what not to take due to quarantine problems? Or are you better just putting everything in half a crate, then getting it all sprayed anyway? Does anyone know ballpark what it would cost? Cheers James.

Hi guys I am an aussie who worked in Sydney for 4 years, before moving to London to work for the past 10 years. Therefore I have a aussie Super Fund with some funds in it (with KPMG which is a QROPS fund) and a UK pension. In the UK I have a defined benefit pension and a PIA (pension investment account) which atm will give me about £15k-£20k pa upon retirement. I want to move back to Sydney at the end of this year permanently and retire (in 25 years) and want to know broadly if it is normally sensible to move your UK pension into an aussie Super Fund? I know there is a time limit around this after returning back (I think around 6 months). I guess if I set up a SMSF when I return, then it might be a good idea to move it into this so that it can be more effectively managed. I also have property in London and in Sydney which I might move into a SMSF if this is the case. Any pointers, referral or guidance is appreciated. Regards James.

I have a 5 year fixed rate mortgage with RBS at the moment and I have a 40% LTV, and am moving to Sydney next year. Yes I was told that consent to let would be fine to get once I move out as it was taken out in good faith as a residential mortgage (as opposed to a buy to let mortgage). My understanding was there isn't any penalty interest applied to this. The reason for asking for consent to let is due to me moving country, not taking the piss which will help in getting the consent I previously had consent to let with the Halifax for another property but once the period of the residential fixed rate mortgage came to an end, then I was having to pay the buy to let rates going forwards which usually also require 25% equity in the property.

Just curious how you went, I am a CPA myself and I previously worked in the big 4 in Sydney but I have been working in London for 10 years now and returning to Sydney in mid-2014. Going also at the end of 2013 to do a bit of recon after being out of the country for the past 10 years things have probably changed a bit.

There are some good textbooks as a guide on business law in Australia or an Intro to Australian tax law...usually you will find these in university bookshops. Won't be cheap but some nice bedtime reading

One thing I forgot to say is if you are moving away from banking and not working in the city, then your salary will probably drop a bit.

[h=3]I have about 8 years PQE and would expect between $150k to $200k, in London earning about £120k, so not that much difference for me really. [/h] When I was working in Sydney in 2004 for KPMG and about 25 yo I was part-qualified and earning $65k pa (nearly 10 years ago). This is how I see it at the moment based on mates who have moved back to Sydney in the last year or so: Grads Doing CA/CPA Program > $42k pa Newly Qualified > $65k to $75k pa 5 years PQE > $80k to $120k 5 years plus PQE > $120k+ FD/CFO > $250k pa One mate of mine got a job straight away with about 8 years experience from the big 4 in London working in restructuring to a CFO role at a medical fund in North Sydney, and some others took a bit longer to find roles. Salary survey I found below on the ICAA site (CA's in Oz): http://www.charteredaccountants.com.au/Students/Finding-a-job/Your-first-job/Salary-survey

Would love to know more about the market also, difficult to predict based on when you will arrive there.

We live in London but are in Kiev two or three times a years visiting the in-laws. Have had a few trips there organising documents so that my partner could do her MSc in London (getting apostille's, certified translations etc). I used to live in Canberra and Sydney also in Oz for about 20 years so I know Australia pretty well and how picky they can be. My wife is also eligible for her British Passport early next year, so once we have that she will be applying for her Australian spouse visa once we have that and we will travel together there. Anyway, we found a good agency in Kiev (next to the Circus area) which wasn't too expensive and seemed reputable which we used for all of our documents. We had to get these documents for the Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK. Anyway, if you have any questions am happy to help out if I can, no doubt you have probably sorted this all out by now anyway. Good luck Cheers James.