AliQ

Thanks Paul, yes, we are really keen to get back and The Sunshine Coast will be our next home. In the meantime, stay safe and well

Please do visit Perth before you leave, it really is a lovely place

I'm also from Derbyshire, currently living near Bakewell, and as Pingpompom69, we also love lots of things about life in the UK. We lived in Perth for 28 years and LOVED it, fabulous place, and the only reason we packed up and left was to do some travelling and live in the UK for a bit to spend time with relatives. But, our plan is to return to Australia as soon as this CV issue has settled, and this time we're off to Queensland, for a change. Good luck Pingpongpom69.

Bet you are glad to be home. We had planned to return in May but have decided to stay put for a while here in the UK. Whilst we are Aussie citizens, we don't have a base to return to (we sold & went travelling) and I think self isolating would be very difficult right now. But, as soon as that 14 day isolation directive is lifted, we'll be in on a plane back, well, that's the plan but this may go on for months.

In view of the current situation I think this may be very hard to manage and get frustrating. We're Australian Citizens and have put off our move back, even though we are entitled to return now if we wish. We do not have a home to self isolate in (we sold up, went travelling) and I'm not sure if any "accommodation" would really want new arrivals that have to go directly into self isolation. We're hoping to get back soon though once the 14 day isolation directive is lifted.

SingaporeAirlines. However, we booked through a Travel Agent as it was impossible to book through Singapore's website (tried for three days to book online !) and when I eventually got through by phone to book the flight, I was told to keep trying online ! The rules may be different by going through an agent, not sure, but as we had booked prem economy I was not prepared to wait & see and lose our money.

Yes, they will refund if the flight does not go or travel is banned, but it's a gamble as by August, who knows ! We've changed the date of our travel (free of charge at the moment) as it's too big a gamble for us, can't afford to lose that money.

We were due to fly May, we have changed the date at no cost, and can change the date again if we need to, again at no cost. We were told that if we leave it to "wait and see" we would have to pay to change, and if we left it to the last minute, we would only get a refund if the flight was cancelled. I was not prepared to lose our money so decided to change dates now before it all gets too difficult to handle.

I agree. Good luck and safe travels.

You are probably right. It's all so very very messy right now. Too many variables to worry about so I think for us we're best staying put then returning once the 14 day isolation has been lifted.

Hi scubacam, we're dual citizens, lived in WA for 28 years prior to coming to the UK to spend time with families. Whilst we have the right to enter at any time, it is home for us as well as the UK, we no longer have a house there, we sold two years ago to travel and we want to settle in QLD for a change. So, we don't have family / friends in that state to bunk down with, and really don't want to spend two weeks locked up in a hotel room / apartment etc, we're concerned that those costs may escalate +++. We've already spent a lot travelling back & forth. As you know, a lot of work goes into emigrating so I really feel for you at the moment. We would still go if it was'nt for that 14 day lock down. We had not booked our accommodation before that directive, so if we tried to book somewhere now, I'm worried that no one would accept us under those conditions.

This is a real worry for anyone trying to emigrate right now. We have flights booked to return to Aus but will now delay. If we give up our UK rental, pack & ship our furniture etc, then Australia decides to close it's borders, then we will have no where to live. Staying with relatives here is not an option, and staying in an AirB&B could end up being very costly if the situation drags on and on. And if we did actually get to Australia, I think it has the potential to get very messy and disruptive, and costly !! We're staying put for a while despite our eagerness to get back to Aus.

I think they would want to minimise the risk to their business and other guests staying there (having said, I have not asked the hotel) And, arranging food deliveries for two weeks to a hotel room / apartment may be problematic. Australia is already experiencing significant problems with online shopping orders & deliveries in some areas.

Hi Quoll, happy travels back to Aus. We're supposed to be returning first week of May but will now cancel and sit it out for a while longer here in the UK. As you say, I doubt our hotel / apartment will allow us to self isolate so trying to re establish ourselves would be extremely difficult. Luckily we can keep our rental here, otherwise we'd be homeless. Really feel sorry for those booked to emigrate right now, I know how much planning and organisation that involves.

Hi Canada2Australia, we moved back to the UK after 28 years out of the country, so had no credit score / rating what so ever. We had no trouble at all setting up utilities etc, arranging a GP and dentist, having said that, we did not need to apply for a mortgage. Good luck with your move.