Chocci

We compared Wise, OFX and Revolut recently and found Wise came up on top.

We did a FX with Wise as their rates beat Revolut and OFX. Just be aware that before Wise allow you to do the FX they may require you to submit the paperwork proving sale of property which may take further 1-3 days for them to process. Our funds came from UK bank account so we also had to provide statement to prove receipt of funds into that account (matching sale price). Maybe more straight forward if you deposit into Wise.

Thanks Jon - I spoke to them last week and had the same question - apparently their websites are still being fixed/redesigned. Their insurance fee is 1.6% of insured value which is a lot cheaper than shipping companies own insurance. They have switched to Aviva as the insurer so I’m wondering if the claim payouts will be as straightforward!

Hi, we've now booked our shipping dates and looking for insurance to cover our 20' container shipment. I've read various posts which suggests taking out insurance from separate company to the removals company, and Letton Percival has been recommended. Wondering if anyone has insured with them since 2020 and has any feedback to share?

@Malcolminthemiddle 3 years ago, we actually did what you are proposing to do: we bought a home in Melbourne and will be moving back in Nov. At the time I was worried about rapid capital gains on properties and worrying we'd never be able to afford a place if we kept waiting. I'm still wondering if it was the right decision because even though I grew up in Melbourne and was really familiar with the areas, as we approach the time to move back I wonder if we do want to be based in that neighbourhood. Secondly, as Ken mentioned there are CGT implications: once you let out a property before living in it as the principle place of residence, you lose the right to the 6 year letting out period (i.e. if you lived in it first, you could let it out for 6 years and still get a CGT exemption when you sell). In terms of taxes, we file Australian taxes every year and all the relevant deductions under Australian tax laws and any net income is taxed at 32.5% which is hefty. We are taxed in the UK as well but get a tax credit for a large proportion of the Australian taxes.

Someone was circulating on FB a SQ no-transit schedule from UK to various cities, and it was a weekly or maybe twice weekly flight for Sydney. This seems to tally up with what I’m seeing on SQ website for purchase for next couple of months. Once we get to June the schedule seems widely open. I’m really keen to book a flight while prices still look reasonable but thinking maybe best to wait until April for more clarity on both Singapore and OZ end. Who knows, if most of UK is vaccinated by then maybe we will even get to stop over in Singapore for a couple of days if we show a negative PCR test? Could be wishful thinking on my part.

Hi @bicek it's such a minefield isn't it? As if relocating across the world wasn't hard enough, throwing all the quarantine and Covid into it. With a newborn into the mix, that must be extra tricky! In terms of flights, I have been reading a fair bit on the two Facebook groups, and I think our approach for now will be to book direct with airlines ourselves. If we do get bumped a few times, we may explore booking with an agent but fingers crossed. The latest Facebook posts suggest that Singapore Airlines is quite reliable in booking within caps (one person had their Melbourne flight cancelled - no surprise there, and they were immediately booked into flight to Sydney), so I think we may start with them. Ideally we'd land into Melbourne to avoid the complications. That said, we are flexible in terms of timing once we land in Australia, since we're planning to land between Sep-Nov and we aren't missing the start of a school year, we are happy to stay in a Sydney for a little bit. Given Sydney's caps 3X higher than Melbourne, it seems to make sense that Sydney flights are less likely to be bumped on that basis alone.

Hi @bicek we have the same issue, we are moving back to Melbourne with two kids 5 and 7 and have heard melbourne quarantine (there’s another Facebook group Parents in Quarantine Hotels) isn’t great for families and there’s much more limited caps (when they do take travellers!). We are floating idea of flying into Sydney to increase chances of getting into Oz, hopefully better chance of apartment hotel , maybe spend a few days there and then do an internal flight back to Melbourne. Will probably wait until May or June to book. Yes some of the DFAT prices sound pretty high! I guess they are full priced economy fares (?). Like you guys we are hoping things ease up by Oct, we are vaccinated and travel caps ease up.

Hi @ADM21 We have just started looking at flights as well though we're not planning to leave until September. We are considering Singapore Airlines, Qatar, Asiana Airlines (if they restart flights from UK). We also have points to redeem on British Airways but only enough to get us to Asia so that probably isn't an option (assuming we'd have to fly into Australia with minimal transit). From what I can tell, if our flights are cancelled, we may have to pay additional fee for the next flight if there's an increase in price. There's a Facebook group called "Australians Stuck Around the World" which has a lot of Australians sharing their experiences on cancellations. You can also register with the DFAT website your intention to return home (if you haven't already). If they run repatriation flights and have spaces,, you may be offered one (at commercial prices) if your flight is cancelled. Good luck!

Hi, just wanted to share that my husband's 309 & 100 visa's were both granted this morning! This was through the Berlin office. We applied in September, received RFI in Dec, and submitted the medical same month, and police check in early Jan. We've been married nearly 10 years with two kids and looking forward to move back after summer, aiming for Sep-Nov time frame. I hope we can get on a flight to get home. Good luck all and if you are waiting, I hope it comes through for you soon!

@ainzlondon79 @Comlay90 Congrats, that's such great news! Hopefully we are just a little way behind you. My British husband filed his application in September, and they sent a RFI in early Dec so he went for his medical and his police report was submitted early January. We actually initially thought the timing would be much longer but the quicker turnarounds from other people here has given us hope. @Anais_V I am assuming the lockdown in Germany is slowing things a bit! Fingers crossed things ease up soon.

Wondering if anyone in London had any visas granted by the Berlin office in the past couple of weeks?

Thanks North to South. We're planning to make the trip in November ourselves and it's such a good point about just spending the time getting over jet lag and admin. Is Adelaide your final destination? All the best!

Thanks so much, that makes sense. Hope the sale went well, did you have to organise it remotely from Australia?

We are planning to move from UK to Australia in November this year. We plan to rent out our UK property for a few years and I understand that we will be subject to CGT in both UK and Australia when we do decide to sell. For the purposes of calculating CGT in Australia, does anyone know which types of professionals in the UK are qualified to provide this valuation? (After we arrive in Australia, we plan to move into another property we own which will become our main residence so we won't be able to benefit from the 6 year exemption. I am Australian, and my husband in British and applying for his partner visa now.)