roomummy Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 Dear All, I'm an Aussie lady who's been in the UK for 16yrs now. In that time I've married a pommy fella and we have 4 children. We are in the early stages of planning our relocation back to Australia to be nearer to my family, I just feel it's time now and I'm excited to be thinking of returning home. We are planning a relocation for 2018. Now for the complicated part. We are going to need to sell our home in Oxford to fund the relocation and free up equity to buy a new property in Oz, I'm sure many people do that. But thinking logistics how have others managed this process? Rent after sale then move? Coordinate sale with move? I'm running a spreadsheet with some predicted costs but I'm sure there are things I'm missing off the list. Can anyone share a costings sheet or logistics tracker they have used as an example? We will be relocating dual citizenship children age, 18 (with a disability), 14, & 10. British hubby who is a Property Maintenance manager for a construction company, myself I am a Office manager in Business center and our 2 border collies. We have the luxury and support of all my family down under with free temporary accompanying available at the other end. Also are there any particular recruitment agencies specialising in British CV applications? Is it advisable to start job searching this far in advance? It would be really helpful to have some logistical guidance so we know where to start and have a guide against any unseen hazards! I appreciate every move will be different but wondered how others have managed the process. Thanks for reading Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 First off, have you applied for the partner visa yet? If so when, if not, when do you plan to apply? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 That was my first thought, too. It can take quite some time for the spouse visa application to be processed so your move date will be largely determined by when that comes through. In the meantime - declutter, declutter, declutter! If you think about it, employers in Australia are no different to British ones - would you expect a UK employer to hire someone, then wait a year for them to arrive? Employers are usually advertising to fill a vacant position and that means they need someone within a month or two. It would be worth browsing Seek.com.au and identifying the recruitment agencies who typically advertise in your husband's field, then he should phone them (don't email - they're too busy and probably won't reply!) and interrogate them about his job prospects. Trying to coordinate house sale and migrating is always a headache. The safest way is probably to put the house on the market well in advance of your move date, then be prepared to rent for a while if it sells early. If you try to time the sale to match your move date, there's a risk it won't sell and you'll have to fly out with the house still unsold - which may or may not be a big problem, it depends whether you need some of the money from the sale to get set up. You'll get different opinions about whether to ship all your stuff or not. It will always be cheaper to ship your furniture than to replace it all when you arrive - however, if you've had your furniture for 16 years you might be glad of the excuse to chuck it and buy new! I always suggest not shipping beds, because you need them right up to the last minute (whereas your container or Movecube will get picked up days or weeks before you fly) and then you need beds again when you move into your new place (and your container will take three months to arrive). It's great that you've got family to stay with when you first arrive, that will save you a bundle and make it less stressful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 Also, have you got your British citizenship? That would be a priority if you don't already have it. You never know when you might need it - getting back into UK is a whole lot harder without it and nowadays you don't lose your Aus citizenship if you take another. You might want to consider not selling your home in Oxfordshire but renting it out in the first instance - you're thrilled to be going home of course but your DH and family might find it harder to settle (provisions/opportunities are not great for people with disabilities as a general rule for example but you could get lucky) so, belt and braces - rent out the home, take a career break etc then when you are sure it is what you remember/all want then will be the time to sell up and jump in boots and all. Take care that you arrive before your now 14 year old turns 16 when yr 11 begins - there's never a perfect time to be moving teenagers In the meantime, as the others have said - declutter like crazy! It's actually quite liberating to dump everything and start again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 Quoll makes a very good point indeed - if you don't have your British citizenship, make it a priority to get it. Getting a spouse visa for the UK is much harder than getting a spouse visa for Australia! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 Agree with the British citizenship. Get it before applying for the partner visa if you don't already have it. Trying to get a partner visa for the UK these days is costly and not easy. Not everyone can take career breaks to try Aus to see if its for them or in case it doesn't work out or make the move without selling their house so be sure of what your plan is and do your sums and all that. Depending on when you lodged or will lodge your partner visa, then you can start working on timeframes. Atm current processing times given on the Aus High Commission website are 10-14 months for an application to be processed. However, some people are seeing earlier grants but you cannot expect or plan for that to be your application as it does not always happen and others are granted in the 10-14 month window given. You should plan for the 10-14 months and work to it and then if the visa is granted early and you want to bring things forward, if in a position to, you can. http://uk.embassy.gov.au/lhlh/immi_partner.html Its not a cheap visa but its simple enough. You'll need to ensure your passports are all valid (for Aus and UK if you hold them) and also that you have the kids full birth certs naming both parents. Personally I lodged my application and then started decluttering, streamlining our house contents and going through everything to either ship or sell/recycle/bin before we moved. I did this for a few months before we got down to the last few months before my grant (we had moved into a rental in readiness a while before). Then I got cracking. Got quotes for shipping, then did a rethink and decided to not ship most of our furniture and so sold it off in the last couple of months and simply shipped personal effects, kitchen goods, a few items of furniture and that was it pretty much. Used a MoveCube and self packed and it was fine. Booked flights as soon as my visa grant came though. Got it granted at the 7 month mark (this was when grants were 9-10 months timeframe) and we flew out about 9.5 months after my application was first lodged. You are shipping 2 dogs so expect this to cost and ensure you get the rabies vaccinations etc done in plenty of time. Also get your collies used to crates as they will be cramped in them for 24 hours plus and then 10 days in kennels in Aus quarantine. You could be looking at £5,000 plus for the 2 of them, if not more depending on the price of quarantine for 10 days for each of them. Contact a few reputable pet shippers for quotes as its based on the height not weight of the dog (crate size needed). You can't leave their bloodwork for rabies to the last minute, you have to allow quite a few months so ensure you time this well with your planned move. Start reading up on it now before you go any further. Keep in mind too where you are moving to in Aus with regard to your dogs. Fields and public footpaths don't exist here as they do in the UK and dogs used to roaming across the countryside may well find themselves curtailed and confined to dog parks or small reserves in city or built up areas. I loathe dog parks and avoid them at all costs (too many large boisterous dogs in a small space for my liking). Thankfully we live in an area where there are lots of trails and lovely parks for dogs but I do see lots of dogs leash walked and never let off as the reserves border roads or play parks and their dogs cannot be trusted. Lots never make it out of the back yard unless they somehow escape but thats a whole other gripe. I doubt you will be of any interest to an Aus employer till a visa is in place and you are all residing in Aus. In the meantime research your lines of work and see what its like and where there may be a demand or need for your skill set. It could be the area your family are living is the wrong side of the country for your work or some such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roomummy Posted September 1, 2016 Author Share Posted September 1, 2016 Thank you everyone for your replies. Very helpful. I have a right to remain visa for the UK and my understanding is that I can return on this visa within 2 years of being out of the UK without it lapsing. Hopefully this woud be plenty of time to have decided the permanancy of the remocation, I'd like to think our decisions would be firm well in advance of embarking on this adventure. I have never applied for a British Citizenship due to personal choice, Ive always hoped I would return to Australia, up until recently the timing just hasnt been right. All of the children are dual passport holders. The childrens ages I listed are how old they will be when moving. I have considered the schooling ages and my older son will be finished his college course at this time. Great advise for husbands Australian visa! I had no idea it would/could take that long. We are looking at the Mid NSW Coast on an acerage as my family have beef country in the area, so I think the dogs will be very well catered for. Its the selling and sorting at this end that seems the most daunghting. I think renting after a sale is the best option for us to ensure a smooth finacial transition. Thanks everyone. Im sure I will have lots of questions in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 You've still got time to get citizenship, it won't cost you much and you never know what circumstances might arise - he might need to return down the track to care for elderly relatives etc. getting it doesn't mean you are condemned to remain and, sure, you might make up your minds in two years or it may take you 5 or 10. I'm sure you're not not taking citizenship just so that it forces your husband to commit longer term. Belt and braces!!! We would have been screwed on our residence in UK because although my DH was entitled to an ancestry visa, that's a working visa and he had no intention of working. Fortunately they changed the rules in 2010 and he got citizenship by descent because his mum was born in UK in 1918! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicF Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 Definitely get citizenship. My OH was in the UK for 12 years before getting his. Never really seemed much point until we decided to move to Australia and then it made sense to make sure we could come back in the future should we want or need to. Having citizenship just means that should you want to return at some point in the future you can do so without having to worry about visas. We've been in Australia for over 4 years now and have no plans to move back to the UK anytime soon but who knows how we will feel in ten or even twenty years time. Especially if the kids decide to move back to the UK when they grow up. At least now we have the option without having to worry about whether my OH can get a visa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 We managed to complete the sale of our house 3 days before leaving and on the day booked for our furniture packing to be finished. Should have been much earlier but there were issues further down the chain. This became quite stressful but we had no family etc that we could have moved in with temporarily. The sale could have completed after we left but our fear was the sale falling through completely and the empty house going back on the market with us in Australia. I tend to the view that an empty house is not quite as saleable as one that is fully furnished. So, with so much out of your control, this may not be ideal. We took the view that in the unlikely event that we would return it would not have been to the same house....and owning a house with a garden, with tenants, while living in Australia, and nobody we could ask to look out for it really did not appeal on every level (though many do this successfully of course). Good luck.....oh and I agree with all the other posters about getting dual citizenship. You surely would want the same future rights of abode as your spouse and children as nobody can say for sure what the future may hold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 Thank you everyone for your replies. Very helpful. I have a right to remain visa for the UK and my understanding is that I can return on this visa within 2 years of being out of the UK without it lapsing. That's fine because it gives you time to be sure you'll settle. However, I would strongly recommend you get citizenship anyway, because otherwise you'll lose the right to return in the future and you may need it. Your children have dual citizenship: that means they can live in both countries. What will you do if they decide to return to the UK to live? They might not plan to stay permanently, but what if they do what you did, meet someone and end up staying permanently? Will you stay in Australia or want to return to be near your grandchildren? You might say you'd stay in Australia - but what if one of your children or grandchildren takes seriously ill and you want to be there to support them? Without citizenship the longest you can visit is six months, which may not be long enough. And by that time, the requirements for a UK spouse visa might be such you can't satisfy them, so you'll be stuck. We all hope things like that won't happen to us but you can't see into the future, and you never know. I suspect you've resisted getting citizenship because you felt it would be an admission you were stuck in the UK: that's not the case now so there's really nothing to stop you. With dual citizenship children, I would not hesitate. You never can tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salH Posted September 22, 2016 Share Posted September 22, 2016 When we looked in to that because we were already planning on coming back to Australia we didn't feel dh could get citizenship because already we didn't have intention to live there permanently. We could have done it, and they could easily have revoked it when we left or submitted applications. Check into that. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 When we looked in to that because we were already planning on coming back to Australia we didn't feel dh could get citizenship because already we didn't have intention to live there permanently. We could have done it, and they could easily have revoked it when we left or submitted applications. Check into that. That doesn't make sense. They don't spy on people after they've got their citizenship to make sure they don't leave! Once you've got it, you've got it. Of course if you submitted the application and then left the country before it was all finalised, of course they wouldn't grant it But that's why you have to plan to delay until it's done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salH Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 Well when I read it, it said they could revoke the citizenship at any time. And as a spouse, me submitting an application to then move to Australia and gain permanent residence, with us both taking all our kids to Australian as newly granted citizens of Australia, didn't seem a good look to me. It could be that draconian power isn't used much. But our conscience dictated the actions we took, we knew we didn't have permanent intention to live in the uk. I think it's wise for someone making that choice, to research and see how they feel about making a declaration that they are planning to live in the uk permanently. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newjez Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 Well when I read it, it said they could revoke the citizenship at any time. And as a spouse, me submitting an application to then move to Australia and gain permanent residence, with us both taking all our kids to Australian as newly granted citizens of Australia, didn't seem a good look to me. It could be that draconian power isn't used much. But our conscience dictated the actions we took, we knew we didn't have permanent intention to live in the uk. I think it's wise for someone making that choice, to research and see how they feel about making a declaration that they are planning to live in the uk permanently. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk I would have thought they would only reserve that option for major crime? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomjackman351 Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 I think you should take help from internet to view the costings sheet or logistics tracker. I am an Australian and never thought to move anywhere that's why I don't know so much about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salH Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 I would have thought they would only reserve that option for major crime? Not so. If there's evidence of intention to live abroad (and they do include spouse) the application is at risk. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/262355/ch18annexf.pdf I'm a lawyer. I like small print. each must be satisfied as to their own actions, and when we looked into it we didn't fit the requirements because our intention was already otherwise. Getting dh citizenship was on our list of jobs before we left the uk. In my view that = fail, for us. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BacktoDemocracy Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 (edited) Thank you everyone for your replies. Very helpful. I have a right to remain visa for the UK and my understanding is that I can return on this visa within 2 years of being out of the UK without it lapsing. Hopefully this woud be plenty of time to have decided the permanancy of the remocation, I'd like to think our decisions would be firm well in advance of embarking on this adventure. I have never applied for a British Citizenship due to personal choice, Ive always hoped I would return to Australia, up until recently the timing just hasnt been right. All of the children are dual passport holders. The childrens ages I listed are how old they will be when moving. I have considered the schooling ages and my older son will be finished his college course at this time. Great advise for husbands Australian visa! I had no idea it would/could take that long. We are looking at the Mid NSW Coast on an acerage as my family have beef country in the area, so I think the dogs will be very well catered for. Its the selling and sorting at this end that seems the most daunghting. I think renting after a sale is the best option for us to ensure a smooth finacial transition. Thanks everyone. Im sure I will have lots of questions in the future. I would get your dual nationality if there is any thought of return, the visas change at the whim of the govt minister and there will be lots of changes now due to Brexit, look at recent case of Australian couple in Scotland who came on one type of visa that was cancelled and they were almost returned to Australia after being here 3 or 4 years and you never know what the future holds. My wife's family never got her dual nationality after 9 years there in Australia and then left and when we wanted to go we had to apply for a visa, complete nauseville. Edited September 26, 2016 by BacktoDemocracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 I think you should take help from internet to view the costings sheet or logistics tracker. I am an Australian and never thought to move anywhere that's why I don't know so much about it. What do you mean? Where is there a costings sheet and logistics tracker for the advantages of getting British citizenship before leaving?t Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.