juliew1499

Hi Amanda Great news - I can't wait until next week when hopefully will receive the same email. We are 2 days behind you with lodgement date we'll see if they are doing things in order. All this waiting for an email and now another wait, still a least you know they are on the case. julie

Hi I decided to email PVC in Perth today as I had some extra info to add to our sponsors application and got an auto email back saying that they are currently receipting offshore applications lodged on 13th June 2014 and onshore lodged on 26th August 2014. They still have a backlog of 5 months for applications awaiting acknowledgement letters but now have a task force in place so this time will gradually reduce. they continue to say that applications are considered based on the lodgement date and the delay in registering an application will not effect the processing time for a decision on an application until assessment stage. They are currently acknowledging applications made on 20th March 2014.The current processing date is February 2013 for 143 where applicant does not hold a 173 - due to high volume it is currently taking 18 months from date of lodgement. We lodged on 20th June 2014 so I'm watching my online credit card like a hawk!

Hi In the April 14 budget the chancellor announced that public sector pensions would not be transferable to QROPS as from April 2015. private sector pensions will still be transferable. You do need to check this out! We are still in the Uk but will be moving out to Oz as soon as our 143 visa is granted. As we are approaching pension age we have checked this out. If you want you pension paid in AUD and no tax on it I suggest you investigate quickly. QROPS transfer take quite a bit of understanding.

Hi Amanda We lodged our 143 on 20th June 2014 and payment will be by credit card - still nothing taken. It's so frustrating!!!! When something is costing this much money you would think that out of common courtesy you would at least get any email saying OK we've received it, waiting time is.........for anything further. We're off to Oz for 7 weeks in December and I'm sure they'll want this that and the other answered whilst we are away from home!

Hi Paul and Linda it's so good to know there are other parents out there going through the same hoops. We (Mike and I) live in Cornwall and we are finding it difficult to leave all the quaint villages and history behind. We are off to Oz for 7 weeks this winter and will be doing some serious research as to where we want to live. have found NAB and Moneycorp to be extremely helpful and we now have a NAB. Account that we can use when we go this winter and we will be all set up for banking before we emigrate. Another tick on the list of things to do. Why on earth does it take so long for PVC to acknowledge receipt of the docs - it doesn't give me any confidence in them at all.

Hi Amanda DHL just e mailed to say application arrived and signed for at PVC this morning. The clock is now ticking........Would be good to keep in touch and let each other know how our applications are going. Julie

Hi after some last minute wobbles finally sent off the docs to PVC in Perth. Having great fun watching DHL processing our document parcel. Has now left Heathrow.......From what I can gather it's now a long waiting game. :arghh: Any other parents recently applied? We will be going to Mornington Peninsular so would be good to know of other parents in the area.

Hi Husband has an MGB roadster 1978 that he loves. Wants to ship to Oz in container with our furniture. Are there any problems with importing a car of this age? Will we have to make alterations to the vehicle to comply with any Oz regulations. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you both for the information. I think we've probably passed thro Somerville as we popped into the Antiques warehouse at Tyabb. The decision to move from Cornwall has been really hard for us - we have an acreage property in an exceedingly beautiful location and we are only 5 mins drive from ancient the ancient fishing ports of Polperro and Looe. The countryside here consists of steep wooded river valleys and there are vineyards, cider farms etc. The coastal scenery is quite dramatic. It's really hard moving away from all this beauty and history. We know that we won't find much in the way of history (buildings etc) in Oz as there's nothing really earlier than mid 1800 however it is very important to us that we live in a location that has a rolling landscape and is scenic. From the little bit that we saw last visit The Red Hill area looked about right. we were on such a whistle stop tour that we didn't have chance to see if there was any community/centre there. We've decided to stay a few nights in Balnarring and try and get a feel for the area. We also liked Somers but there only appeared to be one shop there! Our daughter presently lives in Hawthorn but works in Cranbourne. she will be moving down the peninsular when we have decided where we are going to settle. I think she will probably want somewhere livelier like Mornington. We both drive so don,t see a problem until we get a lot older!!!!

Hi We are in our early 60's and live in beautiful Cornwall, however only child is now in Melbourne and won't be coming back. Our daughter has persuaded us to emigrate and we have been over to Oz for a month in 2013. CPV visas now prepared and just calling the courier to send them off. During our visit in 2013 we had a very brief look at Red Hill and Balnarring overlooking Westernport Bay and thought the area to be very pretty and reminded us of home. Anyone live there who can tell us what it's like? We like to be fairly quiet but obviously have to give some thought to local services, shops etc . Also keen on classic cars hubby has an MG. What's the commute like to southern suburbs of Melbourne now that the Peninsular Link is open? Also liked Mount Martha. Coming out for 7 weeks this December and January so really want to get a feel for where we could settle. Hoping the CPV won't take too long as only one child who will also sponsor us.

Thanks that's a relief

Hi We've just spent a week researching QROPS and feel like we might have got a handle on it, but it is very complex as you have to view the situation from 2 different countries tax rules. Our concern is that our remaining uk pensions that can,t be transferred and are not index linked will loose so much value over our retirement years that we feel we need something else to boost our income. It's Ok I for the younger generation who are emigrating and getting paid InAUD saying stop converting everything into UK currency but that just not possible when half your income is coming in from UK. We are fortunate that we will be able to buy 2 properties outright and just want to be comfortable in our retirement and not watching every dollar. We will be about 64 when we get to australia and would be keen to hear how other parents of our age have settled in. Looking to live Mount Martha area on theMornington Peninsular.

We are just applying for parent contributory visas. As we will be just reaching pension age when we arrive in Oz our plans are to buy 2 properties, one for ourselves and another to rent out so that we can boost our pension. I know it's Ok for PR's to buy a property but I can't find any mention if there are restrictions on the number of properties we can buy. As everyone seems to point out the cost of living is greater inOz so we need to find some Income payable in dollars to help fund our retirement.

Hi Andy Thanks for clearing up some of our queries. We are just about to start the process of applying for the visas and when granted then have to sell our house. our daughter lives in the suburbs of Melbourne and we would hope to live somewhere like Mt Martha or Balnarring down on the Mornington Peninsular. finding our way around the ATO site has now become easier since looking at the link you provided. good to know you can claim health insurance and medical expenses against your income. I still don't understand what the senior offset stuff is all about but assume that is for Ozzies with Aged pensions? As some of our pensions will not be transferable to a QROPS scheme they will have to be paid as UK income. I know Uk and OZ has a double taxation system so that you don't pay tax twice but does that mean that you pay tax in the UK and just show that on your Oz tax return?

My husband and I hope to enter Oz on a 143 contributory parents visa. We are looking at QROPS and have spoken briefly to 2 financial advisors about the basics but seem to get mixed messages. We thought that as permanet residents any income that we withdraw from the Oz super QROPS would not be taxed and that the only tax payable is on growth that the fund makes. As we will be just about reaching pensionable age when we get to Oz this is quite a difficult decision to make. If we don,t do a QROPS then the ATO are going to tax us on all our UK pensions. Is the personal allowance of 18200 the same for all age groups or is there a seniors rate? How helpful are the ATO can you go in and have a talk with someone or is it best to seek advice from an Oz tax accountant?