juliew1499

Just dropped into Poms in Oz just over 3 years since our visa was granted. Very surprised to see some familiar names just receiving their visa grant. We had to wait 2years and 5 months for our visa and thought that was awful but the waiting seems to have increased substantially now. Good luck and lots of patience to all those in the queue.

Hi Catlady

My goodness PVC have taken their time with your application. You should be getting the grant email at any moment. Good luck with your future life in Oz. The POMS site is a real life saver for all those in the waiting room, but for me it is now time to move on. Good luck everyone and let's hope the wait for all those remaining does not extend too far.

Julie

42 minutes ago, NanaJan said:

And so, I thought it was time for an update.

I'm not sure of the exact dates as this last part has been a bit of a whirlwind. My daughter had her interview at Centrelink, lodged the $14,000 bond and the AoS application was accepted and uploaded to Immigration on 30th August.

All the other documents were already with the agent. The medicals were completed back in July.

On the 8th September we were asked to pay the 2nd VAC. We had already transferred the necessary sum from the UK and so arranged a bank cheque which was posted to the PVC by express post on 11th September. We booked a trip to Bali and flew out of Australia on 16th September.

From my sun lounger by the pool I can confirm our visas were granted today, the 18th September. We return to Australia on Wednesday and can start both work and serious house-hunting.

I cannot believe that after all this time it has actually happened.

Keep the faith those of you in the waiting room.

Hello

wow wow wow fantastic news, so pleased for you both. You will no doubt be in a house hunting frenzy when you get back, hope all goes well. Will have to meet up again and celebrate.

Julie

Hi Amanda

Had the most fab day, went with daughter and family to see the 20week scan of our grand daughter to be! 

So glad we went through the visa process when we did or we wouldn't have been here for this very exciting time in our lives.

hope you are well and settled.

Julie

Hi Fisher

great to hear that you are now on your way. It,s been a long time coming! Wishing you all the best for your new life in Oz.

also nice to hear from .Amanda Jb great to hear that you have settled too.

Julie

13 minutes ago, Fisher1 said:

We exchanged contracts on our house this afternoon. Can book our flights. Looks like we are actually going to move. At last!!! 

Congratulations Fisher, at long last you are on your way.

Julie

4 hours ago, Fisher1 said:

I hardly dare say this, but since our buyers have contacted us to agree on some items of furniture they wanted to buy ... it looks like our house sale is going through. With all the personal ups and downs, this process began in February 2013 for us. I can't believe we've just ordered a move cube and I'm packing boxes! ... not quite sure how I feel!

Hi Fisher

Congratulations, at long last it looks like you are on your way. You are right it is a funny feeling - when you finally do get the visa and house sold the pace of things really picks up and life becomes a whirl of packing, selling, charity shops, tip runs and goodbyes. take some time to chill out for a while after the move ( if you can) there is so much to do and organise when you get to Oz. We have been here a year now (officially since 30 Nov) and we are just starting to feel more relaxed and settled. 

Julie

8 hours ago, SusieRoo said:

Thanks Julie, sounds like we should all have medicals in Melbourne. Would you mind me asking the cost in Australia for the medical?

Also, I hope you are a little warmer this weekend and I trust all is going well with your building project. This is something my husband is very keen to do, so please keep us posted.

Hi Susie

347.30 AUD per person. Hmm...... the building project.........we are still waiting for a design, they came up with one design it was lovely but just not right for us or the block of land. It's just like waiting for IMMI all over again. Frustrating, just sick of constantly waiting and waiting and waiting!

we are also in another waiting room but this one is very exciting - first grandchild due 2 Jan!

julie

23 minutes ago, SusieRoo said:

No problem... I get the need to avoid the results being ‘doctored’ by the ‘applicant’, but what if the results show the applicant needs doctoring?

The point I’m making is that we should be able to have all the results ourselves. Imagine if something really nasty shows up on the xray, like you only have 6 weeks to live. What happens next? Do you wait 5 weeks for immi to send you an email?  “We have good news and bad news”

I doubt if holding back your results is ethical or even legal.

Thank you anyway for your contribution and sorry to go off a bit. It’s just this sort of petty, bureaucratic nonsense belongs in the dark-ages.

Hi Susie

i had my medical at Bupa in Melbourne, the Doctor there gave me a written referral to my GP as my blood pressure was slightly elevated, said I must have it rechecked within 30 days, she also stated that it would not affect the results and that all was Ok so far just waiting the results of blood,urine tests which would be a further 48hrs. Although they cannot give you the paperwork they have to tell you if they have found something wrong. Hope that puts your mind at rest.

Julie

3 minutes ago, NanaJan said:

 

We are on holiday as we speak. Homeless, unemployed and reliant on public transport! I am normally a pessimistic sort but I don't think we have any medical issues.  But hey, if we fail them then there will be something seriously wrong so we will have a massive holiday, to hell with the cost, and go back to the UK if and when we absolutely have to!

Funnily enough I have tried to book our medicals today but the site seems to be playing up with dates. I'll try again later.

Hi Jan

congratulations on the request for medicals etc. I seem to recall having difficulties booking a medical on line, in the end I phoned them and got booked into Bupa Docklands within a few days. Just a word of warning, they will not let you thro the door at Docklands more than 2 or 3 mins before your appointment time. They say be on time but they won't let you into the building if you arrive early! They have a very efficient service once you are in.

Julie

Hi Jan

Yes either day is good for us too, we will also come in on the train so can walk to South Bank area. Not sure of a venue so anything your kids can suggest would be great. Looking forward to meeting up.

Julie

Hi

We live on the Westernport side of the Mornington Peninsular in Somers and our daughter lives in Safety Beach only 20 mins across to Port Philip Bay. We really like it down here and would not want to be closer to Melbourne. If we go to the city we either drive to Frankston and get on the train or if it is in daylight hours we can get on at our local Stony PointvLine station in minutes. as we don't travel to Melbourne very often the journey time of one and a half hours dorsn't bother us. We wanted to live by a beach and be fairly quiet. If you are commuting to CBd then I would suggest Bayside area Mentone and surrounding areas - much busier though. Can't help you with Point Cook as we don't know it. Despite what people say Frankston has a lot going for it and a good beach, good shopping centre, Arts Centre. It's one of those places that has grown on us. Trains run into CBD regularly and thro the night. 

At the end of the day we are all different and what suits one might not suit another. The only thing you can do is keep looking. Generally we have been pleased with the weather in Victoria, as someone said it's a bit Mediterranean style. Just freezing cold at night these last three days but the sun has been out most of the day.

Julie

Hi Nana Jan

Welcome to Australia and the cold weather, great to hear that you are settling in, there is quite a bit to do when you arrive but even more when the visa comes through.

Let me know when you are thinking of a meet up, we are away from 17th July for 5 days and then will be available most days.

Julie

Hi Fisher

Not sure which authorities you mean.......HMRC?? We contacted the ATO and Medicare as soon as our visa was granted and we had re entered the country in December 2016. Our UK tax situation is somewhat complicated as we sold a business and our Accountant is still dealing with that........hence all the delay. 

Julie

Hi Geoff and Gill

we brought all our no claims evidence with us and insured our car via our banks insurance company . We were asked if we had full no claims bonus and they said fine the insurance company may ask for proof but usually they don't. We were not asked for any evidence!

we are finding that the most frustrating thing about emigrating is the time it takes to get the tax situation sorted with HMRC, it's just soooooo slow. Claiming Uk pension and getting it paid into Oz bank account couldn't have been easier, plus the rate of exchange given on state pension has exceeded anything we could have got ourselves. 

glad we took the plunge and changed our money as our unit that we are living in plus our block of land have appreciated in value already. We are hoping to get our house design next week so looking forward to that.

we had been feeling somewhat isolated in the community but have recently joined a classic car club, U3A and Probus and now there are not enough days in the week to do everything. 

Good luck with everything and don't forget to catch up for that drink on South Bank!

On 24/04/2017 at 8:52 PM, Alan Collett said:

Yes, that's broadly right.

Australia doesn't tax your UK pension income until you are a tax resident of Australia and your permanent residency visa is granted.

At that time there is a form to be completed by you, stamped by the ATO, and sent onto HMRC.

That done a NT (No Tax) PAYE Coding should be issued to the administrator of your pension.

The UK pension income from the time the pension is taxable in Australia is included on your Australian tax returns, with tax payable directly to the ATO.

It is possible you will enter the PAYG Instalment system in Australia too.

All of this derives from Article 17 of the Tax Treaty between the UK and Australia:

Pensions (including government pensions) and annuities paid to a resident of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that State.

The temporary tax resident provisions mean that UK pension income received by tax residents of Australia who are temporary visa holders (eg 173s, Bridging Visa holders) is NOT taxable in Australia.

Hope this helps.

Feel able to contact me if you need any formal assistance.

Best regards.

Hi Alan

i was very interested to read your reply as I am currently trying to working out when I became an Australian Tax resident. Your reply seems to suggest that you are a AU tax resident when you get your permanent visa but the ATO site seems to suggest that their definition of a tax resident has nothing to do with the rules applied by IMMI.

we left the UK on 30th June 2016 and my Uk accountant says that I am only liable for tax in the UK up to that date. We didn't get our 143 until 30th Nov 2016 and stayed in Oz and NZ on visitor visas. So my question to you is who do we pay tax to for the 5month period when we had left the Uk but were not permanent residents of OZ? Having read through the ATO site there doesn't,t seem to be a clear answer. We don't have any AU income it all comes from Uk pension. Any guidance on this would be much appreciated, I know there are quite a few of us doing the same thing.

Julie

Julie

5 hours ago, NanaJan said:

It really has been a painfully slow process and as you say, we all supposed we would be with our families some 18-24 months after our applications were lodged.

But, we have now booked our flights.  Dammit, we are going anyway

We will have to live a very frugal existence on my small works pension and try not to spend too much of the house money whilst we are waiting for our visas to be processed. Immi are processing precisely 10 weeks prior to our application and we fly in 8 weeks time.  We are going to opt for the standard visitor visa, apply a day or 2 before our flights and keep our fingers crossed we are assessed before the first 3 months are up.  If not, a swift trip to New Zealand will be in order for a second 3 month stay and please, please we are sorted by then!!

Does anyone know if there is any period of time you need to be off-shore before you can come back into the country? @juliew1499 I think you had to do this, didn't you?

All I need to do now is send off for our police checks, end the tenancy on our rental house, book the removal/storage company, contact gas, electricity, Virgin TV, Water company, local Council, visit some friends and family around the UK and book a bit of a leaving bash............

Can't wait

Hi

We went off shore twice to NZ, first time was for a holiday, we had decided to buy our return ticket in NZ when we heard that our visa was granted. WHAT A MISTAKE!!!! Went to check in at Melbourne and was told you must have a return ticket if you are visiting NZ, as we didn't know when the visa would be granted we opted for a stay of 6 weeks and bought the return ticket at the airport. At the end of 6 weeks Centrelink had failed miserably and we came back to Melbourne, sorted it out over the following two weeks and went off shore again to NZ for visa grant.

I remember another POMS member just doing an overnight visit to NZ in order to get back in for another 3 months but personally we wanted a holiday. When it comes to going offshore for the visa grant IMMI will let you know how many days they want you to be away in order to grant the visa. They told us 5 working days but it was granted in 24 hrs from departure. I expect it is different for everyone.

i also agree that you should apply for the visitor visa sooner rather than later, it's valid for a year with multiple entries from date of issue, we did ours a month before we left. There is so much to do before you go and the stress of it all will build up (sorry) best to know it is sorted.

All will be well, specially over a glass or two on South Bank!

Julie

Hi Nana Jan

we came over on a 3 months visitor visa, went offshore to NZ for a holiday and then came back in again, went offshore again to get visa grant. If you sign up for Jetstar special offers they come out every Friday you will probably be able to pick up a cheap flight to somewhere in NZ. We also used Transfer Car whilst we were in NZ and did a cheap 5 days camper hire and then a car hire from Christchurch to Auckland. If you look at the Transfer car site you can pick up some really good deals based on one way hires. Our 4 berth campervan cost 200 AUD for 5 days and we had a car including inter island ferry for 5 AUD per day.

there is no requirement for health insurance on the 3 month visitor visa and i had no problem with getting reimbursed under the reciprocal agreement when I had to have treatment for something unexpected. I believe you have to take out health insurance if you have the 600 visa so that will be quite expensive.

good luck with everything and look forward to meeting up later in the year.

Julie

3 hours ago, NanaJan said:

Hi Julie,

Good to hear from you. We've just got some quotes and will be going through them over Easter. Who did you use and would you recommend them?

We will also be storing here until our visas are sorted as we have also decided to go out on tourist visas in June. Another Easter job is to book the flights

Another question is how long a visa to book? When we fly in June it will be over 30 months since we lodged!!

We are meeting up with @Geoffandgill on the South Bank as they are coming over on a visit in June. Maybe you would like to pop up from the Peninsula so we can all exchange notes and share a nice bottle of wine....or 2.

Anyone else in the Melbourne area in June/July fancy meeting up?

Hi

we made our enquiry thro Anglo Pacific, they then had one of their partner companies contact us (chudley International in Somerset). Chudleys were great, we were visited by the Owner and he and his staff were excellent, price was the best as well.The Oz side was dealt with by OSS who were very efficient. 

Please pm me when you know the date for meet up on South Bank, we would love to come and share a bottle or two!

 Julie

Hi Sue

it took 4 days of packing, 3 blokes working everyday! We had everything in store for 6 months in the Uk the shipped which was really quick and a further month in store in Melbourne.

it's a thorough job export packing everything and doing an inventory, they worked very hard!

Juliue

just popped in to say Hello, I'm in the waiting for a house to be designed and built waiting room now. Since our grant on 30/11/2016 we have been busy sorting out our lives in Oz. Settling down has been so much easier since our stuff arrived from the UK. I can fully recommend bringing as much as possible.

bed linen and towels are expensive out here and of course only come in AU sizes. bring as much from the Uk as you can. DIY tools and gardening tools are worth bringing, hubby cleaned them up, spray painted anything that looked rusty and we had no problem. We even brought a wheel barrow and that was OK.

we are finding that some things are cheaper out here, electricity, gas, rates, petrol, hardly ever pay for parking. Food and eating out costs more, shoes are expensive I've just mail ordered some in from UK. Directly factory outlet shopping malls have some good bargains. 

This morning the exchange rate jumped upwards so that was a pleasant surprise. We have pensions paid in the UK and the exchange rate is a constant source of concern. Luckily we did our budgeting two years ago and although we are living at the lower end of our exchange rate acceptability level we are managing. 

I'm so sorry to hear that the waiting time is now so much longer, our visa took two years 5 months and two weeks (sorry I'm still counting) and can believe the wait is now in the realms of 3years. Let's hope that whilst you are all waiting the exchange rate improves!

Good luck everyone, it seems to take ages and time drags by real slow, but when the grant comes through life become a whirl wind and flies by!

Julie

My daughter has been trying without success to phone Centrelink to ask why they sent her another application form for AoS when she already submitted one with all the documents, which they photocopied and logged onto computer. She can't remember whether or not the Officer witnessed her signature on the form, so it may be that they missed this and so they want her to do another one; however, they offered no explanation, so we just don't know. She can't go back in there until Friday unfortunately because of working. So, just a tip for everyone who reaches this stage - you need to watch very carefully to make sure Centrelink do what they are supposed to do. I know that somebody else had this exact same problem but I can't remember who it was - Julie maybe?

Hi Catlady

Yep, similar problem, as we were walking out of the Centrelink Office I asked my daughter if the official had witnessed the form, no! We went back in and she did it. Several weeks later when Centrelink called to do their interview the official advised that our daughter had been incorrectly ID.d and could she go back to the Office and do this. She did, and Centrelink forgot to upload the info...........and so it goes on.......Our furniture is being delivered tomorrow and we are moving into our Unit. Transportation and storage has been the easy bit, hopefully nothing is damaged and if it is we have insurance with Letton Percival. I would not want to be starting over with buying all new house contents with the exchange rate as it is. We have just bought a fridge freezer and that was a right performance. I,m lookIng forward to being re acquainted with our stuff. Anyway everyone's circumstances are different and what is right for some might not be right for others.

Julie

Yes, you're right - all the time when nothing whatsoever is happening, it just feels that it never will; but then you get a few indications that somebody has actually looked at the application and you start to get your hopes up, only to slide back down into hopelessness. And yet, I know that I will get there eventually. Oh well, time for a large glass of wine and try to relax, I think.

 

My daughter lodged the AoS application and yesterday received a letter from Centrelink which says 'thank you for requesting information about Assurance of support' and encloses an application form for her to fill in - which obviously she had already filled in and lodged!!!

Hi Catlady

you are quite right, you wait for ages and nothing happens and then very slowly progress starts to happen and unfortunately it becomes unbearably stressful. Hang on in there it will happen eventually and things have a way of sorting themselves out. I think I turned several shades greyer during the final processing time and certainly resorted to a glass or two of something alcoholic.

Julie

The long journey has finally ended, flew to Bali last night and received THE email from immi at 9.00am this morning to say PR is granted. Our legs and bums are a little stiff from sitting in the waiting room for so long, but we have finally made to through the door. So after a very long wait it's great to say..... whooohooo.

11am is no too early to start a liquid celebration is it.

Many congratulations Joe, it,s been a long haul. Every good wish for the future.

Julie

Hi Julie,

 

Thank you so much for posting, also the tip about Christmas decorations - I'll be going through mine with a magnifying glass I think! Having had our visa since last April, we are now in a position to move, for the very sad reason that my mum died last month. Its been a time of very mixed feelings as you can imagine, but we are putting the house on the market and hoping it won't take too long to sell. I will be reading the posts on here even more carefully from now on ... Newyorksgrannie our charity shops are doing well out of us too - we are decluttering like mad.

Hi Fisher

So sorry to hear the news about your mum. It's a very sad time but also new beginnings. I wish you well with your house sale and hope it goes through quickly,

Julie