emmajane0429

Me again, leaving in a week and wondering about insurance for our belongings we are taking on the plane. 
Google searches are bringing up trips with return dates so guessing we would need to be back in uk to make a claim. 
we have a lot of electrical devices plus expensive golf clubs so just need cover incase they go missing rather than full holiday insurance. 
Anyone bought similar? 

Thanks everyone, great info 

Moving to Perth in September. So currently we pay a monthly fee for Netflix and prime and have free Disney channel for a year that we got when signing up to a mobile provider. 
 

This may seem like a stupid question but will any of this work in Perth? Or do we need to sign up to new accounts when we get there? 
 

Ok great, I hadn’t heard of them but will take a look, thanks for your replies 

Hi, has anyone used this company to send a large amount of funds abroad https://www.globalreachgroup.com/

they have contacted me through a removal firm  I’m using and I just want to check they are legit which I’m sure they are but you never know these days! 

We are going September. The way we look at it is we can either keep the kids of school until February as they have already completed their year and will start fresh or we can enroll them in maybe October so they can get to know the school and the kids before the summer hols and start of next year. The later will prob be best for us but we will wait and see when we get there. Good luck 

4 hours ago, Quoll said:

Wouldn’t bother with a handover file, schools like to make their own decisions and she’s only 6 so she won’t have missed anything and you’ll probably find she’s streets ahead in literacy and numeracy anyway.  They may pay lip service and ask to see her last report but I wouldn’t sweat it.  Nobody gives two hoots if a kid is out of school for a few months if they’re new arrivals. Only reason you might want to enrol her in term 4 is the chance to make friends for playing over the summer holidays - she could get bored with her own company in a new place.  Kids start new schools all the time so that isn’t unusual, they don’t need to start at the beginning of the year to fit right in. 

I think the handover file is essential for us as we have special needs to consider for 1 child so I guess it depends on your own personal situation. However I have also been told that UK schooling is far ahead of Australia which is good to know and also they are not bothered if you enrol them or not when you first move so it’s nice to know we have a bit of le-way.

Personally I know routine is best for kids so the sooner they get to school the better even if it is just for 6 weeks. I will too be letting them have a holiday and seeing some sights and then hopefully get them into school before Xmas so they can see what it’s all about. I think if it’s left too long they may get really anxious about it. 

On 26/04/2022 at 14:39, Cobs_Ahoy said:

Thanks for sharing Emma, sounds like they are handling it really well. How far in advance of the move have you told them? We are aiming to get out there by October and hopefully telling the kids this weekend, my daughter can be a bit of a worrier so I didn’t want to tell her until we had a timeline to work with.

We are going September/October I told them a few months ago as they kept over hearing conversations which was getting a bit confusing. I also don’t want mine to go back to school in September as that may make it more upsetting for them but unsure how I go about not sending them to school, I mean I guess I don’t need to worry about getting  into trouble for not sending them if we are leaving the country anyway but I presume our local council will probably have something to say about it. 
 

Are you planning on getting your daughter to start school straight away when you get there? I know it will mean repeating the end of year 1 for them but I think it’s a good way to get them to settle in quickly and make friends.

My kids are 6 and 9. My 9 year old totally understands whats going on and is excited but my 6 year old, although knows we are going, doesn't quite grasp how far it is etc...

So Ive focused on the positives that he will get excited about, main thing for him is having sunny days everyday where he can be in the pool with lots of blow up toys and the fact that he will get a double summer holiday off school this year. I try and mention it every few days so it stays in his mind but not too much so that he doesn't think of that and nothing else.

He has now noticed that he wont see his friends again which he says makes him sad but I've said he will make tons of new friends as everyone loves the new kid in school and he can have more play dates as the weather is better so we can be in the park more.

As long as they are with you they will adapt probably easier than you will 

On 23/04/2022 at 11:19, RandL said:

your container quotation will include pickup/delivery at destination of your goods and probably packing and unpacking . The $500 is most likely for the customs clearance , the usual fee for a 20" container if nothing is flagged  during the inspection to not pass . there is also a $80 port handling charge for Fremantle.

the move cube Oz part of the quotation includes the delivery, not too sure about the door-to-door price as every quote if done only shows depot pick-up

 

in regards to select what to take and what not :

i'm going through  the same process at the moment ( having done it a couple of times before)  , and I thought Move cube was more expensive as using a shared container load , a medium cube is only  ~110 cubic feet , if you break it down the cost by cubic feet . 

I've gone through my house measured the cubic feet of items in questions  ,multiplied it by the cost per cubic feet of my quotations , then decided if it's worth or not .

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the tip, I actually marked down the move cube space on my floor over the weekend and realised it was going to cost me approx £160 to send over a box of the kids toys, totally not worth it seeing as they rarely get played with. The American fridge would also cost more than its now worth so i think we have decided to just be brutal and take the bare minimum. So I'm busy ebaying everything in site.

Have you decided on a company yourself? Im wondering if there is anyone else like move cube that may be cheaper

On 22/04/2022 at 23:16, Marisawright said:

The clearance and transfer fees are always an estimate and can be very inaccurate, so it's hard to judge.

I'd say the important thing is to look at the value of the stuff you'll have to throw away.  You may not be "that bothered' about it, but how much will it cost you to replace?  

For instance, the difference between the smaller container and the larger one is £2000.  Go to HarveyNorman.com.au or Ikea.com.au (depending on your tastes) and work out how much it will cost to replace that furniture - will be it more than that? Remember that when you arrive, you won't be able to pick and choose exactly what you want, because you'll have to furnish your whole house in a hurry, so you'll be stuck with whatever's in stock.

Why a medium cube rather than a large cube?  Likewise, get online and do a trial shop, because you're probably underestimating how much it will cost to replace all the stuff you leave behind.   Imagine you're standing in an empty house and you need everything - pots, pans, towels, bedlinen, crockery, cutlery, utensils, kitchen appliances, fridge, washer, dryer, TV, tools. Again, Ikea and HarveyNorman, or PetersofKensington if you like quality stuff.  

Some people buy cheap-and-nasty when they first arrive to get over that hump, but it's false economy - all you're doing is kicking the cost of buying decent stuff further into the future, and meanwhile you have to live with the cheap-and-nasty for how many years?   

I just think once you go for the large cube at £3500 its getting towards using a container anyway. We have somewhere fully equipped to stay when we get there for as long as we want so have the time to start collecting what we need so just bringing out kitchen equipment and personal items like ornaments, pictures etc means we can just keep an eye out for any furniture bargains, I know in Perth people are constantly getting rid of furniture. Thanks for the Harvey Norman tip, i totally forgot bout that shop

Hi, I am trying to decide between decluttering and taking a move cube with just my decent belongings or taking everything with a removal company.

The removal company have quoted me between £5000 (708cubic feet which would be to get rid of some bits of large furniture I'm not that bothered about) and £7000 (full 20ft container, take everything) . They told me that i would have to pay approx $500 clearance fee in Australia

My Move cube quote for a medium cube which would mean really getting rid of most my furniture (my furniture is not great anyway!) is £1132.00 which i thought was great but on closer inspections i have to pay a further $1512.00 for clearance and transfer in Australia.

Can anyone tell me if these clearance costs seem correct, if move cube is so much why is the removal company only $500? Maybe $500 is not accurite.

Has anyone moved recently and can advise what they paid once in Australia

Thanks

4 hours ago, Ausvisitor said:

Have you left the UK yet? Are you still employed in UK jobs?

If the answer to those are No and Yes then you still qualify for a UK buy to let.

You only have to declare your residence at the time you take out the mortgage, and right now if you haven't left you are still a UK resident.

You would need to update them when you did leave, and that is where it might get "fun", but equally they might be happy with the money being repaid and let it continue

Yes we are still in the UK and in paid employment. This is a option but the first thing they will ask if we applied for a buy to let is where are we moving to, we would need to show we were buying a property in the UK so i dont think we would be approved.

Maybe its easier just to sell!

Well ive contacted another company who deal with expat mortgages and they cant help me either! Seems i cant apply for a buy to let in the UK if im planning on going overseas and I cant apply for an expat mortgage until overseas with a fixed address and employment urggh

3 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Expats are people who are working temporarily overseas, frequently in executive positions.  Expat advisors tailor investments, loans etc to maximise their tax position while they are temporarily residing outside their home country.  

If you've got a PR visa, you are not an expat.  You're now an Australian permanent resident and your former UK home is now an investment property in a foreign country.  That may make a difference.  Perhaps your advisor wasn't fully aware of your residency status initially.  Have you asked him why he has changed his mind?  It could save you a lot of time and effort to know.

I can't see why you would not approach the bank to arrange the mortgage yourself. Advisors do not get a better rate for you from a specific bank, so you'll be no worse off by approaching HSBC direct. 

He said he could arrange us a normal UK buy to let mortgage but then they will ask questions about where we live and we would be rejected if living overseas or planning on going overseas. He said expat mortgage would be the other only option and its just not something he deals with. To be honest I get the impression he just cant be bothered! And if thats the case then i would rather not deal with him.

I guess ive just always dealt with mortgage advisors, i did once try and deal with a bank direct and found they just were not willing to offer any actual advice on our best options and if i gave an answer that they didnt like to a question it was just a cross against our names where as a mortgage advisor will advise us what to actually reveal and not reveal!

Hi, We need to swap out our current UK residential mortgage to a Expat buy to let mortgage. Our current advisor has suddenly announced that he cannot arrange this after saying he could! Can anyone recommend a Specialist Mortgage advisor here in the UK who we could discuss and arrange this with? I know HSBC do these mortgages but im not keen on going direct to a bank to arrange myself. Many Thanks in advance

Yep sorry forgot about the 2 year thing! Does anyone have an answer for her? 

On 13/02/2022 at 15:49, Candrews said:

Hello

I’m planning to move to Australia with my 7 year old daughter. I have Australian citizenship through descent. I gained this after she was born. 

Starting the child visa 101 process now. I’m doing lots of research into it and still have some questions/queries if anyone can help.

Can I apply for the child visa even though I am not living yet/have never lived in Australia?

On the 47CH form, do I put my current uk address/work/and income?

My father and brother have Australian citizenship, should I add this information to the application?

Do I need to state what job I will have when we do live to Australia? - although I’m applying and have had interest, I can’t give potential work a date when I could start yet.
 

Thanks 

 

You don’t need this visa. If you are a citizen then your daughter can claim citizenship too, it takes about 3 weeks and costs AUD315 but you do need written consent from the other parent on the birth certificate. 
here’s the link https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/citizenship/become-a-citizen/by-descent

2 hours ago, KayleighMcK said:

Hey Emmajane, 

Congrats on your visa being granted so quickly btw (noticed on another thread!) 

I had a wee question I was hoping you could help with if you don't mind? 

I lodged my partner visa last night (I'm in the UK) and it mentions under 'health assessment' to organise my health checks. Did you go ahead and organise your health check at this point, or did you wait until you got an actual message in your Immi account to organise these? 

I'm seeing lots of comments from people who don't organise their health assessment for a while due to the processing times, so just wondered what your experience was like. 

Thanks so much!

Kayleigh

Hi Kayleigh,

Yes it was so quick!

Yes we arranged the health check straight away, there are only a few options of places to go to have this done so may involve a day trip that needs organising in advance.

Above Paul is a good source of knowledge so always best to go by what he says.

Good luck

14 hours ago, RandL said:

that's what we did  , Kitchenware , glassware , ornaments .... don't use description like  "Miscellaneous  Items"

If there's a variety of items in the box , I list them , print them out and stick the list on the box , then I kept a summary sheet with box 1 - this , box 2 - that and gave that to the movers.

We haven't decided where we going to go in WA yet.  We have lived there for over 25 years in many different places. Bring to stay within an hour of Perth - north of the river, was we have friends there.

 

oh great thats a good help, i guess the thing is to be as organised as you can with the things you can control around you so that your ready to pounce when everything else falls into place. Ive also done this move 2 times before although that was easy as i was young free and single so just packed a suitcase and got on a plane, totally different this time with a house, kids, schools etc to consider. We are committing to two years and just renting our house out in the UK, dont think i could deal with selling on top of everything else!

14 hours ago, Ausimi said:

We booked direct flights to Perth for March, we have been trying for a year to move there! (Two flights cancelled last year in October and November) Hopefully borders fully open in February. 
We also started to de clutter and deciding what to take, I have given notice in my job… for such a big move, it does feel quite improvised and lots of last minute decisions! It is crazy! 

oh wow how stressful for you! i'm keeping everything crossed for February borders opening and i think they just have to open up now, its been so so long. Where abouts are you going to? are you all arranged with a place to stay etc...?

8 hours ago, RandL said:

yes we are too planing to go back to Perth this year. As we have a house to sell , booking flights will be a last minute dash .

We were thinking of going direct as well with Qantas. Let's hope the restrictions will be a bit more relaxed in a few month .

Everything is pretty much unpredictable at the moment which makes it so much harder to line up all those ducks .

Yes it’s frustrating, just want to get on with things really! 
 

where about are you going to? 

I’ve actually started decluttering and packing, we don’t have that much stuff so will use a move cube, do you know if I have to itemise what I pack in each box or can I just for example put: Box 1-clothing, Box 2- kitchenware etc etc ? 

Yes we are moving to Perth 

Hi, is anyone moving to australia this year and when are you planning on booking flights? We are going in possibly September london to Perth and wondering when to book, we will go for direct flights I think

We are waiting to move to Mullaloo next year, daughter is in year 4 son in year 1. This is what I know.
School year starts early February after their summer break so it will all depend on when you plan to go.

 If you move to a Suburb the local school that you are in the catchment area for has to find a place for you, so if you are happy with the local school where you are moving you could literally rock up a couple of weeks before to enrol. You can apply for other schools but you would not be guaranteed a place. You apply to the school itself and you would need either a rental agreement or proof of ownership of a property along with a service bill for the address And vaccination records to apply. 

If you have not chosen where you are moving, as far as which school that’s difficult, I know the schools in the area that we are moving and my sister has visited them, maybe you know someone who could visit some for you or if you look on the group specific to Western Australia  you could maybe ask on there.