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Hi we are new to the forum. We are a family of four off to Perth in mid November. We are selling our house and will be planning to move within a day or so of completion. I havn't worked out how to do the money transfer as we dno't have an Oz back account. Has anyone else done this? Can you open an account from the UK?

Have been comparing HIFX & Ozforex....over past week have been transferring funds across, & just wanted to say how easy I found it using Ozforex. Both are on-line,& upto the minute, so you can get quotes when it suits you (like every 10 mins!) rather than having to keep calling a broker. But Ozforex rates are always better when I get my quotes (the rate also increases per 000, unlike HIFX that goes up in tiers). Also, Ozforex is 24hr, (HIFX is only Uk working hours), this means you can go on-line late at night/early morn & get the better rates which seem to happen o/night here (as trading hours in Oz I guess). With Hifx you pay by using your debit card, wih Ozforex I have a s/o payment set up through internet banking, & once the deal is confirmed, I arrange to transfer the money to their UK a/c - its so easy. (Just hope when I want to transfer my £160000 from the house it is still!) Hope this helps anyone out there in the same boat Kath

Hi there, Can anyone help me in finding out, what is the best way to transfer small amounts of money back to the UK. I will soon be in Sydney on a 457 visa and i am renting my house out, but the rent will not cover my full mortgage and a few little bills i am leaving in the uk. So ineed to find a way to transfer small amount each month to the UK. I have opend up a HIFX A/C and a westpac bank A/C but HIFX only transfer $250 min. am i best to leave a little money in the uk and save up every other month and then use HIFX? Or does anyone know a better way of transferring small amounts of £££ Any help would be great. Dave.

Hello Me and my husband and our 3 kids are hoping to be in oz by january 2011 Have been tying to find out some info but have been really unsucsessful:cute: Anyway we are in the process of selling our house here in plymouth at the min but whaat i really wanted to know is what happens when we get to oz im sure i read somwhere that the dont have married patches so can you just go and rent o buy anywhere you like??? and also ive heard that you pay for your childrens schooling is this true an is it really expensive Sorry if im asking too many questions but any help would be great :hug:

Hi there, Just wondering if any of you guys transferred your money over to OZ using a company called moneycorp and if so how did you find their service and costs. Thanks in advance Craig & Lisa

I'm in RAF and strongly considering applying to transfer to RAAF. Unfortunately now I can only apply at a lower rank than I hold in the UK and the RAAF recruiter has told me that this is unlikely to change in the next few years. Although money wise there is not much difference between the 2 ranks in Oz, I would be looking at spending several years in the rank before I could get back to my current level and look at further promotion (where there is a massive pay rise). I'm also conscious that in the UK, my current wage is considered to be a very good one and I'm not certain how the potential income (approx $75k-$85k) equates in Oz, where I know that the cost of living has risen significantly in recent years. The money isn't the be all and end all as it's the potential improvement in quality of life for my kids that is motivating me to investigate this. Currently I get moved every couple of years, and soon I run the risk of derailing my kids education completely. However the defencejobs website obviously is designed to recruit not give a 'warts and all' picture of life in the Oz military. Grateful for any feedback from people who've done the transfer on the pros and cons of doing it.

Hi As we are doing this without an agent and attempting to transfer to a 176 from a 175 I email DIAC to ask them what they will require us to do if we are successful in receiving state sponsorship and thought I would post what they replied just in case it helps anyone else out. I found it really encouraging especially the bit about receiving a CO in approx 2 weeks :jiggy:!! Thank you for your e-mail about your visa application under Australia’s General Skilled Migration programme. I confirm that there is no requirement for you to relodge another application or pay any additional fees if your WA sponsorship is successful. If it is successful the WA Government will confirm that with you and they will send Form 1100 to us. Once that Form 1100 is received and approved by the Department, your visa application will be allocated to a Case Officer in approximately 2 weeks. Your application will then be assessed as a VE 176 State Sponsored application. I will make a note on your application that WA sponsorship has been applied for. Kindly advise us if/when your sponsorship is approved and, if they do send you a confirmatory letter, kindly scan it and email it to us at: adelaide.gsm.documents@immi.gov.au For any further enquiries about the application you have lodged please refer to our website using the following link http://www.immi.gov. au/contacts/visa-enquiries/professionals.htm Hope this is useful. Claire

Hi Does anyone know where is best to transfer AU dollars back to the UK? Thanks

Hi all Got a question, If I have my money here that I want to send to a bank account in Oz (not got one yet) I understand that if I send it thru my bank e.g Natwest I will :goofy: get a worse rate than if I send it with some financial institution such as MoneyCorp (anyone heard of or used these people ?) Is this so, if it is can anyone recommend who to send it thru ? Very green about these things. Rachel

Hi all, What seems to be the best way of getting money to Australia. I leave on Dec 1st and need to sort out sending my money to Australia in the best way! I want to try to avoid expensive fees etc and get the best exchange rates so any help would be superb! Thanks Tim

Hi, I have been checking the transfer rates and UKForex seem to have a higher rate than others, they are the same company as Ozforex. Have just been talking to HiFx and they were extremely helpful and explained it all so that I actually understood it at long last, but UKForex have a higher rate so if anyone has used them could they please let me know whether there experience was good or bad. Thanks Cat

I guess a few on here do this.... send your AU$ to the UK? Can you give me some advice please? Which company do you use and whats the ins/outs of it all! Also, whats your opinion of the $ getting strong again... Thanks .

Hi Has anyone ever used the company TORfx? We're thinking of transferring some money so any info on this company would be great! Thanks

Am i right in thinking that if i buy a used car which has a current rwc and 6 months rego i then have to do the following... Both me(buyer) and the seller have to sign a transfer of vehicle rego application form, Who provides the form? If i buy from a dealer will they have the forms? Do i bring the form if its a private sale? Then i have to go in person to a queensland transport customer service center with the following. Above form. RWC. Forms of ID, i was going to take passport as one, the visa ticket in the passport as another and my uk debit and credit cards as two others, is this ok?? Proof of garaging address, i was going to take my rental agreement/receipt from the caravan park that i'm staying at, is this ok?? Then pay all the relevent fees. Thanks for any advice :err::unsure:

Hi All We are just about to send off our visa app for my OH,if and when we get it will we be able to tranfer my fiancee's visa to her new passport as we get married early next year,so she will be getting a new passport in order to have her named changed to her married one. Cheers

Is anyone planning on transferring a private or work pension over to Oz. If so how did you go about it. Does anyone have any contact details of anyone who can advise us. Mary, Eddie & Ciara Police Checks Sent 28.04.08 Medicals booked 08.05.08 :jiggy:

Hi Is there a time limit on transfer funds after your arrival in Aus? I rang the Aus Tax Office yesterday and they advised me there wasn't but I have a feeling I read something different on this thread. I also remember reading that you are liable for CGT on transfer of funds if the rate has increased since the day you arrived. Can anyone tell me what rate CGT is paid or recommend a good migration tax expert! Feeling really bogged down with all this stuff!:daydreaming:

We are selling our house like many of you to finance the move. We will make a reasonable profit but looking at some of the threads not sure if its best to exchange all our money in one go or just to take enough to get by initially and leave rest here in high interest rate account and exchange when/if rates improve. Know have to pay tax on money exchanged but would you pay more this way than if you took the lot. Not very good with finiancial things thanks

I know there have been threads regarding this before but I am now actively looking at the best way to transfer 4 pensions (from previous working history) to Oz. I do not wish to take out an annuity in the UK and think I understand the tax implications etc and that I have six months from arrival to sort it out. Which companies who specialise in this have other PiO members used and are happy with. I am getting advice from the Commonwealth Bank next week but would like to 'shop around' for the best deal, I am based near Perth. Looking forward to your replies - many thanks, Cheryl

Hi We have just received great news that we have been approved for the long stay working visa (4yrs). Now all the headaches begin! I currently have a county council superann pension - and am in need of some advice as to whether or not it is worth transferring my pension to oz. I have read that you only have 6 months to transfer the pension if you are a tax resident. Does this mean when you are a permenant tax resident or does this still stand if you are on a temp visa. I would hate to be in the position of transferring my pension and then if I do have to return to UK - find that there is a problem or tax implication to transfer it back to Uk. If anyone is a temp long term visa and can help/or any one in the financial "know" - I would be most grateful. I have just found out our application was successful and we plan to go in January - so I am starting to flap now! Thanks Lisa

Has anyone used OZF REX - as advertised on this site. I know a lot of people use HiFX. Any comments gratefully recieved!:notworthy:

Hi everyone We are just about ready to send off our 136 visa application. We already have a 457 visa but haven't activated this yet as it is taking us forever to sell our house. Anyway, we were wondering if anyone knows whether we will be able to transfer the medicals and x-rays we had done in Nov 2006 to this new visa application? We were under the impression that we probably wouldn't be able to, but my husband who is a nurse had a very thorough medical with loads of blood tests etc (more expensive), seems ridiculous if they won't be able to use these. I also noticed that the medical and x-ray forms have recently changed (don't know how much), but I was under the impression that before they changed, the same forms were completed for the 457 and 136 x-ray and medicals? Any advice greatly appreciated. Jenean

Hi all For those of you already there, how did you go about transferring money? I know there is brokers or agents whatever they're called, but how do they operate, do they charge a high commission fee? Do they have better exchange rates to the banks? I can transfer my money to my sisters account in Oz, and was just going to do it through the banks, but obviously want to get the best exchange rate, so any advice would be appreciated!! Many thanks Sam xxx

Hi, I just got my CO after 7 long months of waiting Now I need to transfer $3500 over to my assurer in Australia so that she can pay the required bond to centrelink. Does anyone know the best way to do this without getting charged too much or losing out on the exchange rate? Also, when the time eventually comes, what is the best way to transfer larger amounts of money? I know a few people have mentioned HiFX but do they offer competitive rates or has any had a good experience with any other companies? I'm guessing the banks would probably rip you off a bit on the exchange rate. Any advice much appreciated.

I know there were changes in April regarding transfer of pensions. i don't want to end up paying 40% tax on my pension and want to transfer it, but am having alot of trouble finding out info. i know Aus companies now have to have certain requirements - can anyone help or have they been given advise?? :?