xmascreek

Thanks - I see anchor points mentioned a lot - I assume (?) this is ISOfix ?

My 4.5 year old 5 Series BMW will arrive in Brisbane, late February 2019. I've been through the approval to import process (ticked) and understand that it needs a compliance certificate before I can register it. My question is - what are the odds that a 'new' UK BMW won't comply ? Second is there a list of folks who can do the compliance - the gov search engine makes no sense. And it also seems that I have to drive to the 'rego' with the car in order that they can 'eyeball' it themselves ? Any clear guidance much appreciated.

Back in the UK - it was all a bit of an anticlimax. Went through the electronic gates at Brisbane Int with no fan fair. Had to look for a border patrol person to ask if 'that was it' - his reply was "well if the gates let you in then you have no problem". All seemed too easy after all the tension planing and waiting for the visa

Thanks - applied 13th Dec17 got the confirmation of both 309/100 on 31st Jan 18 - so about 5/6 weeks from UK Wife and Kids are Australian passport holders and we've been married 12 years so I think all that helped for fast processing.

I had my 100/309 granted but we may exceed the time allowed to 'use' it first time as our house is selling very slowly here in the UK. Can I travel out to Australia the first time unaccompanied by my sponsor or does my sponsor need to be with me when I first land?

I'd be interested to see if yours has come through now ? Sounds like a similar case to mine and we got it in 4 weeks

The guidance is quite clear - effectively the 'tourist visa' is not connected to your spousal application. I'm curious, this site is called "Poms in Oz" - most tourist visas in the UK seem to be accepted within 24 hours (normally 4-5hrs). Is your wife applying from the UK and are you a "Pom"?

I think the point is that - it is NOT the 'idillic' place that warrants the smiley, happy, people title. With Suicide above average for OECD and Child abuse by native population a norm in some parts. NOBODY says Rotherham or NT, Aus are on the smiley, happy, people list. If the NT was in the top 10 for happy, smiley, people then I'd agree

The more one looks into it, the more surprising it is - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-43478396

How about this - Suicide rates per 100,000 people Finland - 22.3 Norway - 14.0 Denmark - 9.1 UK - 7.4 Australia - 10.4 Wouldn't suicide rate be a really good guide ? Source - WHO, 2015

Dispo - "We did certified copies of birth certificates, passports, marriage / divorce / name change documents." that's interesting because non of those specific docs we submitted were certified, just colour scanned and submitted. We weren't asked for further docs or to resubmit them, so sounds like your agent was erring on the side of caution. It also indicates, still, that there is no clear guidance from the site. -

From my experience - 888's need to be certified, as do the Statutory Declarations. Other than that if you submit colour scans of reasonable quality via online the other docs don't need to be certified.

Another note Dispo - is that you can apply for Citizenship after 4 years - so should be no reason to need an RRV - unless you're out of the country for more than 25% of the time.

Dispo - well done - we're in the same boat - never expected it to happen so fast. Busy getting the house painted for sale etc. will go out before 23 Dec '18 (maybe just me - luckily I can get the business to pay for flights etc). We did interviews and paid for schools in Brisbane during the (UK) summer holidays when we went out, so our start point is Jan 18. A note to others - both my kids are dual UK/Aus citizens so that may be why it was processed so fast ? Another note for folks looking for jobs - the Christmas break in Australia is a dead zone for jobs, so make sure you arrange prior to Nov or after Jan for interviews etc.

Anupamanoj - are you applying from the UK ? How long have you been married, how long have you been living together, is your partner Australian born, did you submit 888's. Do you share expenses, banks , utilities etc etc. I suspect that each area is examined in detail - including Character requirements - did you fill in that very detailed form about family, employment etc ? It seems clear that there are some cases that are what is called 'tick and flick' ie clear cut, so these progress faster. Maybe they will want more details ?

Excellent !!! Got mine on the 31st Jan - took around 6 weeks including Christmas and New Year - no agent though - I'm told that it makes zero difference to the application, though I expect it's good to talk to some folks who have prior experience (I used this site for info). Too many agents have taken money and folded recently for my Liking.

... ah ! the agent 'Sell' ;-)

Lisa - I think that's good advice to request, but in our case we didn't ask - and I'd suggest that its pretty obvious to case officers when there is a long term relationship. As a guide where would you suggest lodging such a request in the online form? Aus Home Affairs define it on their web site as the following - Long term relationship We consider you have been in a long term relationship, at the time you lodged your application, if you had been with your partner for either: three years or more two years or more and you and your partner have a dependent child of your relationship. You will need to provide documents that show you have been in your relationship for this length of time and if applicable, that you have a dependent child.

Good advice sifter - remember there are TWO birth Certs that you get given when you register the births - it MUST be the one with both parents named on it - of course divorce or adoption complicates things but that is covered elsewhere. As a note on snifters pdf comment - I downloaded "Cisdem PDFCompressor" as an app for my Mac on my forms to reduce the size for things like Facebook screen scrapes etc I've no idea about Windows or if Cisdem PDFCompressor is the best app, but it worked for me.

Interesting - we never explicitly asked for both on any form - just assumed that this was default under the guidance "You apply for both the permanent and temporary visas at the same time and pay only one fee". Then it says "If you have been in a long term relationship before you lodge your application, the permanent Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100) may be granted immediately after the temporary Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309)." https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/trav/visa-1/309-/Partner-(Provisional)-visa-(subclass-309)-and-Partner-(Migrant)-visa-(subclass-100)-document-checklist -

Hi Jeh - yes I uploaded both passports for the children (UK/Aus), Naturalisation Certificates and of course the birth certificates with both our names on them these went into the 'Family Book/Household Booklet/Family Composition Evidence' section - I also uploaded paid school receipts for the kids starting next year in the 'Nature of the couple's household, Evidence of' section to demonstrate the nature of our commit both as a family and to moving with the family to Australia - there was a question about any specific dates in one of the docs but I left it clear as the starting date in the School acceptance is quite evident. We also got 5x 888 from close friends in Australia. Three bank statements - current and additional two over our 11 year marriage, we didn't mark them up apart from highlight our salaries going in on the most current one - it's clear from the statement that we share our life and spend from one account as there are coffee shops, waitrose etc named in the statements themselves. In total I uploaded about 43 docs excluding the online ones - about 55 scanned pages in total. I've seen youtube examples where people upload or send in (in the paper days) 500 pages of bank statements alone - no wonder it takes forever for both them and the folks assessing them ! Looking at the details most docs went in on 30th Dec and I was still uploading as late as 3rd Jan and - so in fact the folks were really efficient in their assessment and I have to thank them for that. I went to Australia house to get the stat decs certified before scanning - and decided to upload the paper stat decs as well as fill in the online ones as well - the questions were slightly different so it seemed wise (they may have viewed them as duplicates, I have no idea). I also filled in form 80 as well as the main application - it's not clear and I do think they could make it a little clearer - that was a printed and uploaded form. NOTE only source forms from the government site - I discovered that some of the PDFs on Migration agency site can be out of date so the format change etc. I'm also sure that there is no right way to do this - given the same application, a different reviewer could take a different view. And also it may be that the new year is a slow time in UK applications, who knows? Anyway good luck - my main sense of relief is that we can now target a spring sale for our house rather than Autumn/Winter :-)

There is an extra stipulation for the RRV that you need to have spent 2 years in Australia during the 5 years, or they may restrict the time of the RRV. Best thing it to apply for Citizenship before the 5 years :-) Seems like they're trying to stop wealth tourists.

thanks Ken - that's an interesting point - I suppose the best thing it to get a valuation on leaving. OK - my normally sharp brain is beginning to melt down :-) So that implies that I'd only pay ATO tax on any 'gain' in my 'realised' pension after I leave for Australia, but how would they determine the 'gain' if I draw down in monthly amounts - is there a formula they apply? For example leave UK with £500k pension pot, after 10 years it grows (organically @ say 4%, and no additional contributions) to £740k - then (assume no 25% withdrawal and no other income inc state pension for ease of example) If I keep it all in the UK and draw down £30k per year at 65 years old (usual 4% draw down rate) then 25% is tax free in the UK (so £7.5k) then the next £11.5k is tax free (personal allowance) leaving £11k to be taxed (£2.2k tax @20%) - so net amount after UK tax deductions would be £27.8k How does the ATO regard this ? As £30k ($52k) taxable income (minus taxes already paid in the UK) OR as £22.5k taxable income (because the 25% was free in the UK)? The withdrawal route would be take out £125k tax free bring it over to Australia and bank it in stocks trust etc in either a super (over time) or property (nah! - well maybe) In the UK we section off different allowances (ie ISA, Pension 25%, personal annual capital gains allowance and personal allowance) but this doesn't seem to be the case in Australia (apart from property and super). So the big decision is - if I leave the 25% lump sum within the Pension how does the ATO regard it? Is there a Motley Fool guide anywhere that explains this in simple terms rather than shrouding it in 'expert' mystic :-)

Perhaps I could rephrase the question - in the UK the first 25% of pension is not taxed against personal allowance (either lump sum withdrawal or part of draw down). The rest is included in tax assessment as taxable income. So for example if I didn't take the lump some and took it as income then the first 25% of a monthly draw down would not be submitted as taxable income, the rest would be assessed against the personal allowance and tax would be paid on anything over £11,500 per year. I read that the ATO had recognised the 25% tax free allowance from UK pensions. Or would the full amount be subject to tax in Australia and therefore tax paid on the 25% part in addition. I'm aware that the double taxation treaty means that any tax paid in the UK could be used to offset any tax due in Australia under the world wide income. But the yes/no part is, does the ATO recognise the 25% tax free part in the UK as tax free in Australia. The simple reason is - if they do not recognise the 25% tax free element, then I'm better off cashing as a lump sum 'before' I become a full time resident in Australia and put it to work in Australia (top for mortgage or super contribution over time).

I paid on the 6th Dec and then uploaded my docs over the next few weeks - the medical HAP form was issued on 9th Dec - I booked the doctor and was in for medical on the 19th Dec - the results were all good with the HIV test taking a further3 days and posted online by 22nd Dec (again good thankfully). In the meanwhile I paid extra to get the Police check expedited (it took 3 days) - so all submitted before xmas week. The hardest part was tracking my 10 years of travel/countries which was a few hundred flights ! I think that the fact that we'd been together for 16 years and married for 11 helped. I also think that making sure the kids where Australian (Dual) and had school places already paid for with starting dates etc helped. But to be clear I did not and still do not have any insight into the process once submitted, so I was pleasantly surprised at the speed with which we got a positive response. I did fret about not using an agent, but in reality I've filled in so many forms for wife and kids over the last few years citizenship, passports etc that I've become familiar with the terms they use etc. Again to be clear it did take many many months preparing and scanning the docs, getting asset quotes and references etc. One interesting thing that I thought about was that I suspect the Doctor was used to confirm my identity because we didn't need to o an interview face to face.