AMP
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Ok, many thanks Alan. I’ll be getting back to you for formal support when my 143 is finally through and when I need to do my first full tax return! In the meantime thanks again for all the support you provide to this forum.
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Hi everyone. Again it’s a good while since I posted on this forum, though I do check it weekly! I continue to be happily in Oz on my 600 visa whilst waiting for my143 which will HOPEFULLY be processed in the next 12 months. I have a question about tax and I think this is particularly relevant for anyone like me who is, or has been here, on a 600 visa. I’ve checked and found out that, although I am only here on a visitor visa, I am classed as “Resident for Tax purposes in Australia”. My only Australian source income is less than $100 per annum of bank interest. I understand that until I have my 143 visa then I am only eligible for tax on Au generated income. I also understand that I am obliged to lodge a Non Lodgement Advice for the 2017 to 2018 tax year, which basically means I wont fill in a tax return but am stating that my income is below the level where I need to pay Australian tax. My other income, which is all from the UK, is declared and is taxable in the UK. My problem here is knowing how to obtain a Tax file number (TFN). On line applications are only available for those with work or other visas. I understand that it’s possible to apply for the TFN via the post office but I’m unsure whether this is the correct route. Also on the sample form it asks when I arrived in Australia. I’m unsure what date to give as I came here in October but then had a 3 week visit back to the UK in May, Has anyone already dealt with this TFN issue and have advice know what I should now be doing please? Many thanks in anticipation.
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Sorry, I’m now pretty lax in checking this site so often go to the latest entry first, and then I back track! just to say huge congratulations to EVERYONE who has had positive news over the last week. It’s great to see things finally moving and to know that the crush within this waiting room is about to ease. Hopefully, with the start of the new financial year in July, there will be a sudden surge of visa processing and lots more will be having contact to submit documents, pay 2nd VACS etc. Maybe I need to start to complete my form 80 in anticipation ........
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Excellent news Lorraine, so very pleased for you. Congratulations!
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Thankfully it wont affect me but I have signed anyway as I am appalled at this change. It will affect those most in need. The families who are on low incomes, including those who are maybe single parent families, are the very ones who are most in need of having their parents over to help with child care. These are the ones who will struggle and will probably find it impossible to meet the necessary income requirements. This policy is SO discriminatory. I'm seething with the unfairness of it all.
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Hi everyone, here I am again. It’s right, I haven’t been posting lately thiugh I do pop in to the forum still from time to time to see how everyone else is getting on and to keep updated on current issues. Kath56 can rightly feel miffed that she had conditions of 12 months in 18 months plus medical conditions attached to her 600 visa. My situation seemed identical to hers and I didn’t have any conditions attached, even though I had also applied for “multiple stay”. It really does make it all seem like pot luck as to which clerk processes the application. As for health insurance, well, as I didn’t have that condition attached I just took out an extras insurance which covers for things like dental or pharmacy. This is with HBF and allows you to do a multiple choice for the 5 areas of cover which are most relevant for you. It wouldn’t meet the requirements for health cover if you are required to have this under the terms of your 600 visa though. I had previously done some research in case this was one of my visa requirements and the best I had come up with were BUPA or Australian Unity, of which the latter gave a cheaper quote,. Good luck everyone!
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Excellent news about your house sale Kath, congratulations???
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Yes, the date given is the last date you can enter and you will then have 3 months from that date. Note that the 600 visa which you previously referred to is different to the e-visitor visa. It’s a pay for one, whereas the e-visa is free. Not expensive though, less than £100. I, like Geoff and Gill , was allocated a multientry one with 12 month max stay at each re-entry point. It does seem to be a bit of pot luck re whether immi allocate that one or whether they specify 12 months in 18. We have debated this before on this forum and haven’t been able to come up with a definitive reason as to why one is allocated over another. All you can really do is apply and EE what you get. Good luck!
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That’s the option I have gone for and I have to say, touch wood, that it’s working out very well. By going in with my daughter and son in law to buy a bigger property thereby giving space for a granny flat, it meant that it was financially advantageous for both parties, plus it meant that there was enough money left to have a swimming pool.??. I’m on hand to help with child minding etc but we all have our own separate living space so function totally independently of each other. It’s very reassuring to be so close to family and means I am certainly not lonely as I am able to see quite a lot of them. My own financial share of the property is clearly identified via a “bare trust” which was very easily set up through a solicitor. If I had been buying on my own then my capital would have been readily swallowed up, but this way I have actually ended up with capital release.
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Thanks Kath for the info re the form and thanks to you also Alan for your advice.
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Thanks for the advice Linda but now I’m in a quandary re what address I can give if I update my immi account. My house in the UK is sold and I am currently here in Australia on a 600 visa, living at my daughter’s home. Can I give this address as my current address, even though I am technically here only as a visitor? Or will it be better if I simply don’t change anything on my immi account, particularly given that everything is dealt with electronically anyway. Help/advice needed here I think from folks who have already gone through this process, or from our fountain of advice Alan Collett, of course,
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I’d agree totally with your advice above. I managed fine with all things borrowed from either my son or daughter, but it’s lovely now having all my own things, particularly all my crockery and cutlery so that I can totally fill the dishwasher without running out! I didn’t bring any white goods over, but I brought virtually everything else. 72 packages in total, some quite small, but all shapes and sizes including my bike, garage and gardening tools as well as furniture. It was all excellently packed, though it still amazes me how much paper they used. They specifically advised about having anything in plastic bags (including advice not to use vacuum bags) because of the risk of mildew. I used John Mason and the total cost was £2793 for 575 cubic feet. This was the total amount I paid and covered everything. It included customs and clearance fees plus a small optional amount for insurance in case the container was picked out for decontamination spraying, which can be a random decision. It was slightly less than the estimated cost as once it is all packed they take everything to the warehouse, stack it and then measure and invoice for the actually volume. I mentioned on this blog last year that there can be a big difference between removal firms in terms of assessed volume so it’s definitely worth having several home assessed quotes which they seem quite happy to give and which are very painless, Extra note about the air bed. I had 3 months on a double, full size blow up bed (Aldi). I slept better on there than I have slept for years, it was so comfortable!! I’m sleeping less well now that I have my own bed even 5iugh it’s a very good and very comfortable one. It would make a difference I suppose if the air bed had to be shared with another person but it was certainly absolutely fine for mean my own.
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No problem getting 12 months, basically when you apply on line that is simply one of the options, but you do not get this longer term option with an E 600 visa.its all done on line but there are a lot of questions and this visa also is not free. Can’t remember the actual price but it’s less than £100. If you go on line then you can fill in the application and will then see what the questions are, though you have to complete each page before the next one is thrown up. The payment requirement only comes, if I remember correctly, once the visa has been agreed. The more important issue for many is how to get a 600 visa with more than 12 month validity and no conditions attached. Mine allows 12 month maximum stay on each re-entry but has a multiple entry option and a 5 year validity. There was nowhere on the application for me to specify the duration of validity that I wanted and I think this is where the assessing officer has discretion. When did you apply for your 143? Where you stand in the queue is one of the questions they ask, so it’s sounds as though that is one of the elements they consider in making the decision. I’m happy for you to send me a personal message if you have other questions or if you feel it would help to compare situations.
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7 weeks, wow, that must have been frustrating.Mine was stuck at border control for 4 weeks which I thought was bad enough, but then it was over the Christmas holiday period (and as it’s school summer holidays everywhere will be short staffed so it was understandable). Glad you also now have your things as well. It certainly makes it all feel very like home again. My granddaughter is delighting in helping me to sort out all my costume jewellery, general “bits” and, of course, the photos.
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John Mason
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Re importing personal goods including furniture on a 600 visitor visa. Just to let you all know that my furniture has now arrived, all intact and no issues with customs/quarantine. I didn’t have to do anything further after it left the Uk other than signing and returning one form stating whether or not I was importing any alochol (which I was it was all very simply delivered direct to my apartment, all unwrapped, put in place and packaging removed. I have to say though that the un- wrappers here were no where near as efficient as the wrappers in the UK had been - maybe it’s a heat effect! I had had a few reservations about whether there would be any problems, given that I was importing on a 600 visitor visa, particularly since most shipping agents had said they could only do the shipment if I had a permanent residence visa. The firm I used said it would be ok as long as my tourist visa was for at least a 12month stay. Some other firms had suggested I needed to ship it in my daughter’s name but then she would have had to state that it was all her personal possessions which she had personally owned for over two years. I resisted going along that route as it seemed underhand and I didn’t want to risk either getting her or me into trouble. So, it all went in my name and thankfully there were no problems at all. It’s super to have all my things here, though as it took 14 weeks to arrive I had had plenty of time to get used to a totally minimalistic look so it now looks rather cluttered!! I’m sure I’ll soon get used to it!
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Happy New Year to all the Poms in Oz forum members! Hope that this year will be full of good news for all of us in the waiting room and full of happy times in Oz for those who have already made the move. Hoping particularly that the 2015 applicants (including me!) will be granted our parent visas this year.
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Many thanks. We did have a good meet up in Brisbane and it was really lovely not just being able to meet other PiO parents but also having the opportunity to share experiences and advice. It was also great to share Tony and Lorraine’s excitement at having been contacted for their medicals and police checks. We were all full of praise for the support which this blog gives us all, so thanks again to whoever set I think up and to all the contributors. ??
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Please will you PM me too? Or tell me on Friday ?
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While the rate is currently reasonable I have been buying things here (petrol, shopping etc) using my UK credit card. It’s a Nationwide one, there are no fees at all and you get the actual exchange rate. For those still in the UK then it’s worth investigating and getting such a card if you haven’t got one already. Nationwide told me there was no problem keeping any of my accounts in Oz as long as I opened them whilst I was still fully UK resident. I have changed my address to Australia. It’s just that I am now ineligible to open up new accounts. It’s a bit of a bind as it means I am now excluded from the regular saver accounts which give a higher interest rate and my last one has just matured! If you are looking to keep any savings in the UK then make sure it’s not a limited term account.
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Yes there are a few of us in Brisbane or heading to Brisbane. We’re meeting up on Southbank next Friday (8th)If you are currently in the Brisbane area then you may want to join us. PM me if you do, or if you want to join a future meet up.
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Ooh, what a pain. Hoping that all will be well for you but I can appreciate your frustration and background anxieties. Sometimes these things just have a way of sorting themselves out. You have had an offer on your house, so that’s good news, and maybe these delays are just so that all will fall nicely into place at the right time. Trust the universe, as they say ...... Keeping everything well and truly crossed for you.
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Hi everyone, Some while ago there was a discussion about private medical insurance once in Australia and whether it was actually necessary. Essentially It seemed to be that, if nothing else, there was a need for ambulance cover as, if ever needed, that was REALLY expensive. I am only on a 600 visa (though was given a tourist Medicare card without problems) and in the end I decided to take out cover with a not for profit organisation, HBF (another really useful recommendation from this forum). The lowest level of cover gave a pick and mix range of options which included ambulance, dental and pharmacy. Since then I have found that Queensland permanent residents are already automatically covered for emergency ambulance. I’m not a permanent resident yet but for any of you who have actually now got your parents visa through, or are about to have it granted, then that is worth noting as it will definitely be a saving for you. Sorry, this doesn’t seem to apply in NSW and I don’t know about other states. Definitely worth checking though. I didn’t realise before that all the states were so different.
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That’s a shame. Would the Thursday be any good for you? We don’t really want to leave it any later as the main school holidays are due to start. Maybe another time.
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Hi. Some while ago I made a proposal to meet up with Catlady in Brisbane once she had started to settle in. Well, we’ve now decided to meet at Southbank, at “Kiss the Berry” cafe, which is right by the big wheel so easily findable and very easy to get to - South Brisbane station is close by. We are planning to meet the first week in December, thinking of Friday 8th at 11am for coffee (or other drinks). There are plenty of other places around if any of us decide to spin things out longer and if we also want to have lunch down there. A few others had expressed an interest in joining us, namely Ian Ireland (you had said you would be over late Nov, early December) and Pom Queen. Maybe you and anyone else who may want to join us could PM me? If Friday is a problem then we have the option to change the day to the Wednesday or Thursday. Looking forward to actually meeting some other Poms in Oz contributors!
