PerthLondonGirl89

Thanks @Marisawright, @rammygirl & @Ken for the explanations, it is really helpful. That makes a lot more sense now about the banks deducting the Non-Resident Withholding Tax. As I have been receiving interest on my accounts I assume this means that it has not happened and therefore I will actually have to do the tax returns. I am certain when I left I did notify my banks to say I was going overseas, though at that stage I thought it may only be for a year. However it seems as though the systems may still think I am resident, in Aus which complicates things! Thanks Ken - I will double check my last tax return for the year I left Aus. My dad actually used to help me complete my tax returns and he did mention the other day that he thought he put on the last tax return about moving overseas and therefore the next one would not be required, but I will check!

Hello, So I keep putting this off as it confuses me but I really do need to get this sorted. I have been living in the UK since 2014 and naively did not think I needed to complete an Aussie tax return of some sort. Upon checking my ATO account I realised that I have a few years worth of overdue tax returns to complete. Now I am pretty sure that I do not need to lodge an actual tax return but instead I need to submit them as a non-lodgement advice. This is what it says on the "Work Out If You Need To Lodge A Tax Return" page on the ATO website and I believe I fall under this category:- You do not need to lodge an Australian tax return if: you are a foreign resident and your only Australian-sourced income was interest, dividends or royalties and you paid the correct amount of non-resident withholding tax I spoke with someone from the ATO to update my details and arrange this however they were not much help and confused me even more and I now doubt my understanding! So I just wanted to ask on here for some advice. I still have a Super account as well as a couple of bank accounts which I have been receiving interest on. All of which are well under the $18,200 tax threshold for Aus. Besides this I receive no other income from Australia. I also don't have any student loans/any loans. What I earn in the UK I pay tax on in the UK. I am not sure what the non-resident withholding tax relates to that is mentioned above? @Alan Collett and @Ken - you both have been very helpful recently, are you able to advise on this? Am I correct with my thinking that I just need to complete a non-lodgement advice for all the years I have not been resident in Australia based on the above? Alan I think when we spoke you said that this should be the case but I don't think we had discussed Super/bank accounts interest so I am not sure if that changes things. Sorry to ask what may be an obvious question - it doesn't take a lot to confuse me when it comes to things like this and I just want to get this right

Hi Emma. As Paul says you will need to provide the statutory declarations. From personal experience I would definitely make sure you have the fully completed 888 forms ready to upload before applying for the visa. Some of my family/friends took almost 2 months to complete them

Awesome news Jon, so happy for you that you finally made it enjoy Perth!!

Sorry I completely missed this earlier. Yeah it feels like a kick in the teeth as it seems like there is just a small batch of 223 flights that have been cancelled - the majority seem to be okay, we just happened to pick the wrong flights. The part I keep replaying in my head is that I was umming and ahhing over booking the week earlier which those flights seem to be okay. I keep thinking why did I not book those instead!! BUT! It is out of my control. We are lucky as we have a roof over our heads for as long as we need, I do freelance work so we will be getting some type of income, and we are all healthy and okay as are my family in Aus so we have no pressing reason to get back other than un-pausing our life for our next big steps (starting a family etc!). I just need to be grateful for the position I am in, as disappointing as it is to have our flights cancelled yet again. Getting back to Australia will happen eventually. Obviously anything can happen but all of this does make me more hopeful that your flights will be okay as I think you would have heard with this recent batch of cancellations if not. IThis forum and the stranded Aussie's FB pages have shown me that there are (unfortunately) so many of us in this position - and as much as I want to be the one with the success story of getting home I am so happy for those who do actually make it because I know the intense feelings that go on inside and the affect that this situation has on you!

@bicek yeah I have had a look today but no DFAT flights have become available. I will keep checking though and will also keep an eye on emails for the October flights. @psuwara it is definitely not a nice situation and it sucks that so many have been through it. Our first flights were cancelled at the start of February and then this is our second lot cancelled in September. I am very pleased that you guys did eventually make it to Aus! I am sure we will get there eventually too.

I am... but of course it is not letting me log in to the website to update my details to say I have had yet another cancellation.

Yup unfortunately I am one of those unlucky ones with the SQ223 cancellation on 30th September. Absolutely gutted. So angry and so upset.

Although their website does not make it seem that way you should be able to get a full refund with Express Test due to the reason you are cancelling - I actually just cancelled my booking with them yesterday. When you go to cancel online choose the "Change to Government Restrictions / Entry Requirements" reason. In the text box I added the Singapore MOH link from my first post above and explained that due to these government changes I needed to cancel and book a test where results where guaranteed in less than 24 hours. I requested a full refund explaining that as I was emigrating I would have no use for the voucher. Although they said it may take a while to hear back I got a response within the hour confirming that I should receive my full refund within 3-5 days. Hope it works for you !

Yep it is 48 hours before your first flight even if you are only transitting via Singapore. We had PCR tests booked with Express Test who only offer results within a 48 hour guarantee. Thought I may have trouble trying to get a refund but I applied and they processed it right away. Now to fork out for more expensive but quicker PCR test results!

@Alan Collett is able to assist with both UK & Aus tax information so I would recommend speaking with him

Hi All For anyone flying with Singapore Airlines and transitting via Singapore from 9th September 2021 it looks like you now need to have your PCR test done within 48 hours rather than the 72 hours. https://www.moh.gov.sg/news-highlights/details/updates-on-border-measures-for-travellers @Jon the Hat @Captain Ron - I think you both have Singapore flights booked so in case you haven't seen this update here you go - plus anyone else who this may help!

Fingers crossed for you!!!! Let us know if you make it ! Is your SIN-PER flight a SQ 223 flight? Ours is luckily, still confirmed for 29th September, I am checking the app daily!! Our Qatar flights on 16th September finally got cancelled this week as expected - so glad I booked Singapore too. Did you manage to get a DFAT flight or just hoping your Singapore one goes ahead?

Hi @bicek https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/form-listing/Pages/travel-facilitation-letter-request-form.aspx You can extend the initial entry date for your husbands partner visa by the above link. I think they will extend it for a year from when you apply for the extension, that's what happened with us at least.

I am really hoping this is not the case. The reason I ended up booking flights with Singapore is due to them supposedly booking to the current caps (obviously if caps are cut at some point this would be affected). When I was contemplating booking these flights there was availability every day in September and October. A couple of days later there were no flights at all throughout both months so I panicked and booked for November. And now they have appeared again... So I think maybe it was moreso they were doing some kind of refresh of availability? In all honesty though I have no idea what it was all about and I am just guessing. I am just keeping everything crossed that I get on a plane and get back to Aus!

Ahh okay thanks. I just tried it and it didn't work, but I will just check back over the next 2 months and hopefully get one booked in! Yeah I have no idea what it was all about. But I am just happy that we got to move the flights forward and at no extra cost. Just hope that there are no more cuts to the caps then!

Thanks once again @Jon the Hat ! I don't know how I completely missed that page. I have now bookmarked it to check back in case it changes! Loads more flights became available for September & October so I moved our November Singapore flights to a week after our Qatar flights in September. So pleased! Have you booked your PCR tests at Gatwick yet? I had a look at their site and their is no availability in September but I am not sure if that is due to the slots not being open yet.

Hey All, For those who have recently flown with Singapore airlines and transitted via Singapore, were there any forms that you needed to complete prior to your flight? We have flights booked from London to Perth via Singapore in September and I have tried to make sense of what their terms say and what is required but I am not sure. I know we have to do the Australian Travel Declaration for Aus and G2G Pass for WA but I am not sure if I am missing anything in relation to transitting via Singapore. Any advice on what is required for those who have done it or those who are due to and know would be much appreciated! Cheers

Thanks @Jon the Hat for letting me know! @Alan Collett I was actually in touch with BDH Tax earlier in the year with a slightly different enquiry. I didn't end up proceeding with the initial call as I was then linked in with a "friend of a friend" but that didn't eventuate. Your personal assistant in the UK was lovely and I have just sent another email to her to see if I can schedule in a call. @Ken thanks so much for your informative reply. I have responded to your PM

Hi All! Can anyone recommend any companies / accountants who can provide tax advice on UK / Aus split year treatment, particularly for self employed? Although it is not due yet I have no idea how I will need to lodge my tax return(s) for 2021/22 - which country if it is one or both etc. I am moving from England to Australia in September - if we don't get bumped again that is!! So I will be resident in Aus for longer in relation to the tax year dates. I am asking now to be prepared in case I need to register as a sole trader in the UK whilst I am still here (I have only recently started doing freelancing work, previously was employed full time). I have googled and contacted many companies online, some charging an arm and a leg! Obviously I will pay for proper advice as I want to ensure I comply and action all my taxes correctly, but I feel some fees are very extravagant! If it just is what it is I will suck it up, but wanted to do more research first. So considering this site is for UK / Aus expats I thought I would also ask the question on here. Has anyone had to deal with similar? Any advice would be welcome - recommendations or ballpark figures of what I can expect to pay for this service etc. Thank you

Hey! You need to complete a Travel Facilitation Letter request, below is the direct link for it on the IMMI website. https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/form-listing/Pages/travel-facilitation-letter-request-form.aspx I would assume you wouldn't have any issues being granted an extension on your initial entry date (but of course I don't know for certain!). My partner's IED was 5th Feb 2021 and we were due to arrive in Aus not long before this... unfortunately like many others our flight was cancelled we were bumped off because we didn't pay enough / airlines overbooked their flights so we didn't make the date. The first thing I did was apply for this letter and it was granted later that same day - his IED was extended to a year from that date. Good luck! Hope your flights go ahead regardless and this won't be needed... and congrats on the pregnancy to you and your partner

Yep London to Perth. They had halved the caps just before we were due to fly though. Our thoughts are the same re Business Class - really don't want to have to spend that money but it we keep getting bumped may have to reconsider. Thank you and fingers crossed it goes smoothly for you too! Let us know how it goes!

Hiya, Thought I would share our experience to give you an idea! We had economy flights booked for 1st Feb with Qatar and they got cancelled a week before we were due to fly. We were given the option of keeping the ticket for another flight, getting a travel voucher or getting a refund. We opted for refund in case we decided on a flight with another airline and we received the money back within a few weeks (though I did contact them to prompt this). Ideally we had wanted to book the next available flights with Qatar but that was Mid March and an increase of £16,000 (2 x business class flights) so as you can imagine we decided against this! We looked at all the airlines and we couldn't buy a 'reasonably priced' flight until at least May / June. We have been weighing up whether to suck it up and pay business class for May / June time, or hold off until September when prices were a bit better and risk it again with economy (or get slightly cheaper business class then). We are going to wait until September now and will likely risk it one more time with economy to be honest and really hope and pray that there is less demand and more spots available by then! However we do have accommodation and work options if it got cancelled again so we would get by. As many people have advised if you want less risk book Business or First class... and if this isn't an option then definitely have a back up plan in place and be prepared that it may take a looong time until the next flight!

Thanks for getting back to me. Hopefully that is the case.. Qatar are half the price of Singapore economy (and everything else is business / first only for when we need to go!). Though we haven't ruled out Singapore (before COVID we planned to fly with them) obviously money is a big factor so we are leaning towards Qatar. I am hoping it is a case of many Aussie's being able to get back before Christmas and therefore easing the amount arriving in January... of course can never be certain but unless we do fork out for business class we just have to keep our fingers crossed!

Hi Wanderer, did your wife end up flying business class or economy with Qatar?