SPRINTER

Don't forget, dependent on your income/investments on a 405 your tax could be very low and could sweeten things on the finance side a bit.

I would say it took about 5-6 months, probably a bit longer for us as we were living in Switzerland, so some paperwork took us a bit longer to get. Once Alan had all the paperwork it was just a waiting game. Good Luck for the hopeful move.

Yup, quite settled now, furniture arrived 2 months ago, so almost feels like home except it is a bit warmer. We are in SA and the rather large deposit is paying 1.85% interest, not a fortune but better than most UK banks. Good luck.

We recently acquired this visa and used Alan Collett (GoMatilda) to process it, a bit time consuming but most visas seem to be. Worth giving him a call.

I recently imported my pre 89 bike long with my household goods, This was into South Australia so other states may have different rules, best to check with their transport authorities. It was very clean, with no visible dirt even on the tyres. I had the Import Authority granted in my name and I processed the paperwork, bit of a time consuming process, mine was held up in customs for a couple of weeks when it arrived as they were short of inspectors or that is what they said. They had to do a valuation report and duly charged for it and there were other charges relating to the import. Mine was in a closed wooden container for safety, just in case anything broke loose in the container and hit it. A lot depends on who inspects it and handles it in the customs, not all are used to "old" bikes. I also had to arrange transport from the docks to home as the shipping company wanted it empty of oil and fuel and the battery would probably have been flat after being in the container for 4 months. We used Pearsons to coordinate the whole move, household and bikes, no real problems, they actually made the crate on site to fit the bike.

I know this is like asking how long is a piece of string, but watching the GPB/AUS exchange rates and they seem to be moving quite quickly, in my case in the right direction. Any clever people out there that can say what is causing it and any guesstimate how long it may continue.

Ours came in like a swarm of locusts, I had packed things in drawers, but they wanted them packed in boxes so things got mixed up, a lot of boxes, especially my tools had been badly handled with contents in a heap at the bottom, they did the packing? Luckily nothing damaged, Speak with the move manager about the packing and photo as much as you can in case things go missing..

Who ever you use make sure you have decent insurance for them, mine arrived last week with some items missing although they were in a single occupancy container and locked and sealed when they left my last home. Now seeing how good the insurance is or how they get out of paying.

Craigburn Farm development is coming to an end and Blackwood Park is being advertised on telly, we live in one of the early Craigburn developments and the area suits us perfectly although we are at the older end of the age range. Blackwood is a nice friendly little town and I am told the schools have a good reputation in the area.

We went to SA regional, (slightly cheaper) still waiting for our container, but at least it is in Australia, just waiting for the customs to do their bit and see how much actually gets here.PM me if I can help in any way.

Nope, still waiting, phoning them is like talking to a robot, go to your local branch is the normal reply, the branch is about 12000 miles away, you need to use a card reader we will send you one, Should have a good selection of them if they ever arrive.

Tried to when we bought ours recently, no cash off but a couple of thousand in extras thrown in. Probably depends on the dealer.

In the same boat, NatWest are supposed to be sending me a reader so I can update my details, seems to be the only way to update details. We will see when and if it arrives.

We used them to get our visa, no major problems, visa obtained, usually quick with replies, good company to work with.

Has anyone had a good experience with a removal company, we are at the stage of selecting a company and all the reviews are terrible, all seem to loose goods, break items, and get boxes stolen. I would have thought a single use locked container packed by them would be pretty good but apparently not. Any help gratefully received.

Wow, that's a shock, hope there is a company that will insure them, in my case my tools are probably worth more in replacement value than the contents of the house.

We now have our 405 visa, must admit it was a bit of a paperwork chase, not helped by living in Switzerland. Alan Collett did most of the work for us, no problems there. Hoping to move over in June, we are lucky we have already found a house that suits us. The State investment is paying around 1.8% interest, not a fortune but better than most UK interest rates. Dealing with the authorities here has been friendly so far, and questions have been answered in plain English. If you need any info PM me and I will try to help, but remember we are new so certainly don't have the answers to everything.

From what I see in the papers in UK, most of the world uses the system for free, and if you are a Brit and have paid into the system all your life why shouldn´t you get it for free. Just last week an asylum seeker had 185000GBP of cancer treatment, free. If you have a NI number why not give it, you paid for it.

We are in a similar position at the moment in that we are looking at various possibilities for a move down under. All the info the original poster has found is easily available on the government websites, but when you ask specific questions the answer is usually none to clear and what I call loose. Specifics like what health check is required, what interest is paid on the lump sum investment etc. usually receive an unclear answer. We are at present looking at a 12 month visa (600) and whether that could be renewed every year, again the question wasn't answered. It would be nice to be able to find info where it states you need x.y.z. to be granted a visa, but so far have been unlucky or am I looking to deep for things that are not needed and the visa is comparatively easy to get providing you meet the basic requirements. I suppose I am one of those people who likes to gather as much info as possible in order to make a decision, we have lived in various countries and been through the process a few times so we are not just day dreamers. If I find any more useful info, I will post on this forum as I find it one of the most interesting and useful sites I have come across.

You only have one life, make the most of it, there are too many people who have done nothing with their lives but are full of uninformed advice.

Does anyone know if a British made will is valid for a British person now living in Australia.