mylesu

Hi Jemvin I think you can drive on your Aussie for 12 months, and after that swap over to a UK one. Not sure if written test is required but I will look into it. Insurance wise, I couldn't be bothered with NCB so went to Direct Line and insured a Diesel Jeep Grand Cherokee for £536 for the year. Aviva and Admiral from memory had similar pricing - and that was with full NCB. Do a few online comparisons and have a look to see what suits your own situation. PS - unless you are buying a very small car, consider a diesel as fuel costs are currently around £1.10 per litre. Cheers Myles

Hi Jemvin, yes we had to travel to the UK within 30 days from the date that we chose to travel. We chose to travel from June 1 2016, so the vignette part of the visa (in passport) was dated June 1, and we had 30 days from this date to get to the UK. The Biometric part of the visa (like a plastic ID card) was available to us from June 8 and we had 10 days to pick this up from landing in the UK. So, we landed on the 16th June, and we picked up the biometric on the 22nd. Make sure that you pick up the biometric part of your visa, as it is this that allows you to stay in the UK. The vignette portion in the passport is simply to get you landed and into the country. Cheers Myles

I would keep a very close eye on the rates over the next couple of weeks as you may get a break converting your dollars. With regard to the EU Referendum, I don't think the Remain camp will continue to have it all their own way and the Leave camp may start to raise their voices which could put pressure on the pound. I say this as I doubt that Aust interest rates will be lowered again next month (but I could be wrong). After June 23rd, if we are still in the EU, I see the dollar weakening and you could well see AU 2.2 to the pound. I used HSBC to convert my funds and I opened a UK bank account with them. I am told that KVB Kunlun is a good alternative to Currency Fair. There is a website http://www.australiandollarforecast.com/category/aud-to-gbp which has good information.

I opened my UK account through HSBC at Hornsby branch in NSW. I opened a local account first and then they set me up with their international team and I applied for a UK current account, savings account, Visa Debit and Credit cards. As long as you have your passport as ID and you can prove where your money came from, then you should have no problems. As far as furniture/chattels are concerned, we are taking most of ours, but we left the large electrical items behind as I'd rather by new stuff in UK. Depends what you have really and whether or not you feel you can replace it cheaply.

Quick update on this one; my wife received her visa today, 25/5. Initial application made 21/3 and booked application appointment 24/3, so 2 months from application to visa. Only did online application and Appendix 2. No further information on accommodation given.

Thank you Marisa. I did note that you warned your sister to expect a call, and I did the same with my cousin. My wife had her biometric meeting nearly two weeks ago so we are waiting to hear back - however long that may be.

That is a great post Jaynemw and very useful. I'd like to ask Marisa Wright if she did an inspection report for her sister's place - not sure how to 'tag' her here.

Yes, they don't make it easy - I'm going through the same process as I am looking to take my Kiwi wife back with me. Don't lose heart as the job market in the UK does seem to be pretty good in general at the moment.

Yes, that is true, but in the form - think it's in Appendix 2, you specify the number of bedrooms and public rooms, as well as giving the full names, relationship and passport numbers of all occupants. I our case, we'd be staying in a 4 bedroom house with only two other occupants who share one room, and we have given all contact details. If you have given a letter you should be fine.

We have just applied for a Spouse visa for my wife, and it's the first I've heard of a property inspection report too. We will be staying with my cousin until we find a house that we want to buy. We have given all the contact info like address, phone and email in the form so the proper checks may be made.

My wife has just applied for her Spouse Visa and had her biometric interview on 24/3; Marisa's kind help was invaluable, but I did not see any separate financial requirement form either. She filled the basic form online, and we filled Appendix 2 and provided the certificates, passports and required financial proofs, nothing more.

In that case it it really easy then. Thank you so much Marisa for explaining this - I just found the Government PDFs so unclear on these topics.

Was thinking about that too - does the money have to be in a UK account for 12 months? We don't have any UK bank accounts at the moment, only Aussie accounts. The money will also come from the sale of our house which should settle before Christmas. In this case, would we have to deposit the lump sum into a UK account and then wait 12 months before she could apply? Thanks again for your advice - it really is appreciated.

I was thinking more in terms of the timeline; she would come over with me for 6 months initially; we would then buy a property and she would have to return to Australia to apply for the spouse visa. For us the money is not an issue - it's the to and fro that's a pain.

Thank you Marisa; seems a very long and onerous process to go through...no wonder folks are complaining about it.