Sharpeys

On 01/03/2019 at 17:59, Judy said:

We have just arrived in Australia. My husband gets his state pension and called the international pension centre last week to let them know we were moving. He was advised that the payment can continue to be paid to his UK bank or they can pay it to an overseas account. The only problem with that is you will have no control over the exchange rate. Hope this helps. 

On 01/03/2019 at 17:59, Judy said:

We have just arrived in Australia. My husband gets his state pension and called the international pension centre last week to let them know we were moving. He was advised that the payment can continue to be paid to his UK bank or they can pay it to an overseas account. The only problem with that is you will have no control over the exchange rate. Hope this helps. 

Thanks very much Judy. Appreciated. 

Dear friends, We are reaching the point near time to move and think we have covered most bases. When it comes to pensions, I have a private pension from my work as a police officer and enquiries seem to show this will just be a case of supplying our Aussie bank details and it will go straight in there. We are getting very confused as to how to address the State pension payments. Having read this thread, is it just a case of keeping the account open which the pension gets paid into and transferring it down via moneycorp, or can you set it up to go straight into your Oz account.

Confused of Kendal.

25 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Yes, I don’t see a problem.

Thanks very much..x

25 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Yes, I don’t see a problem.

Thanks for your reply Marisawright, yes, as I said, we’ve moved cash to our daughter for birthdays, permission fees, a reservation fee for a plot with no charges, or problems at all. My query is, is it ok to move such a sizeable amount far in excess of these fees safely..?? 

Hi everyone. Can anyone answer us a question please? We are going to Perth on a Bridging visa and wait for the Aged Parent to be granted. We have sold our bungalow, and could be on the move all being well around early May..?? Can anyone advise how best to take our proceeds from our sale down to Oz. We don’t as yet have an account in Perth, we’re looking to open an account as soon as we get there with ID etc....we have been sending money down via Moneycorp who are excellent. Can we have our sale proceeds placed into their account and moved down to our Australian account safely? Or move it from our current bank is stages which might be free from charges depending on the amounts sent. 

Any feedback appreciated.

Thanks very much.

Verystormy: You make two references in your comment about two things increasing in the near future? The cost of the 143, and the waiting / queueing (is that a word??) times. We are just getting started on our journey to Oz via the 143, is this just speculation? Or is there something happening we are not aware of. Many thanks for your time.

Thank you very much, doing the forms right now. Got a headache already...!!! Cheers.

Hi all, well, after a lot of deliberation, a chat with the agent, we are going to go for the 143 contributory parent visa. Form filling as I write, so the journey begins. Family in Oz are thrilled. Thank you all for your advice , it is much appreciated.

19 hours ago, Fisher1 said:

Very thoughtful post but one small point - once you are over sixty five it is almost impossible to get travel insurance for longer than thirty days on a single trip. Yes, you can get travel insurance easily until you are in your eighties ... But only for thirty days. Thst was one of the deciding factors for us because if we were only seeing our daughter every once a year or so we wanted to be able to stay for much longer than that. It is possible to get private health insurance for longer trips I know, wnd there is some medicare coverage but life is much trickier without travel insurance. 

Being a retired Bobby, our travel insurance is ok till we get to 70. Then we have to start looking for another provider. I think its the same with property insurance too, is the premises going to be empty for over thirty days seems to ring a bell..?? Thanks for your response.

On 27/04/2018 at 02:46, Marisawright said:

If losing a few thousand pounds is a concern to you, then I  think it's important to sit down and work out how much the move will cost.

I'm sure you're already aware of the cost of the visa (is it around $60,000 now?), and the air fares.  But there are other costs too.   

If you're a typical 60-something couple, you probably have a houseful of furniture, pots, pans, crockery, linen which will last you several more years.  Some of it may even "see you out"!  You'll either have to pack it all up and ship it over, or give it away and start afresh in Australia (or a mixture of those).  Either way, it's several thousand dollars (if you haven't furnished a house in a while, you might be shocked how many thousand!). You'll also need to sell and replace your car, of course. 

Then there's housing.  I don't know where you're moving to, but have you checked what kind of home you could afford if you move?   Don't forget to allow for stamp duty and purchase costs.  

Then there's the fact that your British government pension will be "frozen" on the day you leave. You'll continue to receive it, but you will never receive any increases, so over time it will lose value. If you have a private pension fund, you will be at the mercy of exchange rates, unless you transfer it to an Australian fund (which has to be done very carefully to avoid losing a lot of money in tax, I believe, so get expert advice!). 

Hi Marisa, yes, I think we've looked at most of the points above, the cost is around the figure given, maybe set to rise in the 2018 budget next week. The assurance cost is rising next April, so thats another $5-6000....plus I read in the paper today that the housing market in WA is not in a good state, so all these things make us wonder even more.

6 minutes ago, Judy said:

I don't think it is the 864 visa that's not available but they can't give details of  processing times due to the lack of applications. 

Ah, ok, that makes more sense. Cheers.

4 hours ago, SusieRoo said:

The 143 visa process is horrible and is lightly to take considerably longer than 3 years. In our experience (25 months queuing so far) it will cause you to question your move many times over.

We are going with a positive mindset, but plan on leaving some bridges un-burnt, so we can return to the UK should things not work out. As Fisher1 says it's really down to funds and I would not like to be without some reserve, just in case. 

On a practical note, I think you will qualify for an 864 visa, which has shorter processing times. Or you could also consider the new temporary parent visa (due to be available soon) to give it a try before fully committing to a full visa.    

Thanks for this Susieroo, I think if we did go ahead our bridges wouldn't quite be burnt, but to return would be coming back to a set up nowhere near as nice as we have now..?? I looked at the 864 visa, I may be wrong, but I think it said none were available due to lack of applications. But I've read so many things in the last few days that my head is spinning...!! Thanks again.

9 hours ago, ramot said:

I completely agree with the above comment. As an expat before retiring we have probably known more people than most who have faced the dilemma of where to move to on retirement. Most like us did what they wanted to rather than move close to family.

All our three were in UK then, so we could have gone back to our old village, and of course all our three were living in different places and least 2/3 hours away, and not close to each other. So it could have made sense to move near the married one? Moving to an area we didn't know, settling there, to be possibly faced with our son then moving for a new job, and us saying "but we moved here for you!!!"

So we did what we wanted to do and moved to Australia, originally for a few years for an adventure.

I think parents must consider that if they do move here that their children might move so they have another decision to make. I doubt many consider that.

Thanks Ramot, I think thats a very relevant point. At our time of life we have to do what WE want to do. We have a very easy comfortable life here, with good financial back up. Do we want to do the move and use all our finances until we sell the house...??? Hmmmm.....your comments are appreciated.

7 hours ago, rammygirl said:

Very important consideration.  My FIL considered moving to be near us in the UK, glad he didn’t as we are now in Australia and that would have been a very difficult decision to make if he had moved to be with us.  No way he could get a parent visa as doesn’t meet balance of family test and never will.

we moved here with one son and the other is now in Australia, albeit in another state.  We moved for us as we knew they could easily move from the UK when able and then we would be too old to follow our dream to Oz.  They might move on, we might return to the UK, who knows?  They have their own lives to lead and although we will hopefully always be part of their lives we still have our own to lead.

I am still very close to my sister and her kids and grandkids who are all in the UK.  I miss her but we chat on line and have managed to see each other every year by meeting up somewhere in the world.

We meet with old friends from the UK for a holiday every year in Asia too.  The world is smaller than it used to be and we are still fit enough to enjoy it.

The price of a parent visa these days is so expensive I don’t know how people do it and still maintain  their lifestyle.  That money would buy a lot of flights.

Both your remarks are very relevant, thanks for taking the time to reply. Our grand daughter now is nearly 20 and courting, her brother is 17, nearly finished school and we feel has the wander lust to travel the world, leaving little brother, (and he's coming up 15..) at home. Would daughter and hubby downsize? Leave the area? Who knows, can't forecast the future can we....we do chat on Face Time quite often, and as you say, the cost would buy a lot of flights and we can stay in our very comfortable zone...

On 26/04/2018 at 07:51, VERYSTORMY said:

It is a tough one and I have met parents who have made the move and are very happy, but also some who very much regretted it and now felt trapped and disappointed as the kids and grandkids they made the move for aren't that interested in spending the time with them they expected. 

The current wait times for a CPV are three to four years. 

If you do decide to pursue it further, I would take independent financial advice as well as not only is the visa expensive at over $120k for two of you, but there are other implications on things such as pensions. 

Thats a very relevant comment. Thanks for that, more food for thought...!!

10 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

Hi Can, could you please provide a link for this medical point?  Does it apply to ETA?

Again, very good point. Age decrees that travelling such a distance will get harder, wasn't aware re the 75 check ups though. Thanks. 

2 minutes ago, Sharpeys said:

There's two things there that concern me....the three years or more ? before making a decision, and losing that amount of money....we are talking to an agent on Monday with a lot of questions, so we'll see how that pans out...thanks for responding guys.Appreciated.

11 hours ago, Ray and Geri said:

Why don't you apply and see how things pan out....It's going to be at least 3 years till you have to make the decision to go ahead anyway. You would loose the £2500 ish it costs to submit your application but that's not much when you look at the total cost of moving out to Oz...... and at least you will be " in the waiting room " ( where we have been for the last 3 years ).  

There's two things there that concern me....the three years or more ? before making a decision, and losing that amount of money....we are talking to an agent on Monday with a lot of questions, so we'll see how that and out...thanks for responding guys.Appreciated.

17 hours ago, Marisawright said:

All I can offer is a cautionary tale.  I know a woman, Carol,  who came out to Australia on the parent visa.    I first met her when they were waiting for the visa, but visiting often - every time she was in Australia, she'd come along to the same dance class as me.   The last time I saw her, she said to me, "I never thought I'd say it, but there's more to life than grandchildren".  

Carol was the one who was always desperate to move to Australia, to be close to her daughter and the grandkids.  Her husband was more cautious about it, because they had such a good life in the UK, but he went along with it.  Now she's discovering it's not what she expected.   They used to visit once a year for two or three months, they stayed with the daughter, did the school run, babysat the kids, had weekend outings etc.   That was what she dreamed of.

Now the reality.  Unfortunately, because the visa cost so much, they couldn't afford to buy a home close to the daughter.  They have a small flat in another suburb, too far away to do the school run.  They do babysit occasionally, but the kids are older now, so they have sport on the weekends and other activities with their friends.  Bottom line is that she sees less of the grandkids now than when they used to do their annual trip!

She's now sorry she gave up her beautiful home (and gave away or sold so many nice things to save on shipping). She misses all her friends.  She realises now that she expected her daughter's family to fill the gap left by friends -- and that was never realistic, they are a young family with their own lives to lead. She's having to rebuild her whole life, make new friends, change her lifestyle...  

The silly thing is that the money they spent on the visa would have paid for an annual visit (either for them to Oz or the family to the UK) for the rest of their lives, so she wishes she had settled for that.

Yes I can see the picture here....its a massive step to take. Holidays are great, but getting there, knowing no-one other than your immediate family, not knowing where anything is, the financial outlay...thanks for the reply. Increases our concerns a bit..

Hi everyone. Not a new topic by any means, but would appreciate any views you may have...My wife and I are thinking about a move to Oz using CV143. We pass the eligibility test etc, our daughter is a citizen near Perth, having been out there nearly 10 years. We've weighed up the costs as best we can, and were thinking it would take around 2.5.to 3 years. However, with all the talk these days of immigration cuts, costs rising, and the Oz 2018 budget looming, are the times going to increase drastically? I've seen mention of 6 to 10 years waiting times, and the AOS going up next April anyway. We are both in our late 60's, fairly healthy, I've a new hip that is 11 years old, and my wife is on medication for a treatable condition, but physically fit. 

We know it is a risk, but wondered what you good people might think.

Thanks in advance