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Repatriation help and advice required!


Brisky

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Hi everyone,

 

 

My name is Paul and I need your help!

 

 

I moved to Australia from England in Dec 2012 having married a girl from Melbourne. Not two months after arrival she announced that she no longer wanted to be married to me and I asked to leave. At this juncture I had no job nor did I have anywhere to live. Luckily I had some friends in Melbourne who were able to put me up for a short time. I then found another friend who had a room for a rent and then a job came along too and so I was able to prop myself up in my new country.

 

 

My dog also made the trek with me to Australia however, the apartment I was sharing was not dog friendly so some friends in Brisbane kindly offered to look after him for me until I could have him back. Some seven months had passed in Melbourne and I was unable to afford to move out and rent a bigger property in order to get him back in my life and so I left Melbourne and took a job in Brisbane to be with him and closer to my friends.

 

 

Moving from the U.K to Melbourne and then to Brisbane cleaned me out financially and I wasn’t able to make a trip home to visit until 3 years after arriving here. Suffice to say it was a very emotional experience. I have just come home from a second visit and have had to take two weeks leave as I pretty much crashed as soon I arrived and have felt incredible unrest since returning. My Dad’s partner was diagnosed with dementia and the last time I saw her she was fully functional. My Dad now has to do everything for her and it was heartbreaking to witness the demise of such a lovely lady. I feel racked with guilt for being on the other side of the world while this has been unfolding. Especially as I have no ‘real’ life here, more of an existence as such.

 

 

Like many on here, I miss my family and friends and (with the exception of a few good mates who are mostly all poms) have been unable to find any real connections with people on this side of the world. Similarly, I feel very disconnected and Australia has never really been somewhere I can call ‘home’.

 

 

Anyway, that’s my story per se. My next step is to apply for citizenship and I am just a few weeks to be able to go ahead. I have all of my supporting documents and I’m good to go. After that is the actual repatriation itself which is where I wondered if you could kindly point me in the right direction - maybe there’s an existing thread on here I should read?

 

 

Essentially, I’d like advise on the process of going home. I have a 20ft container with my life in it. Most of my stuff has been in storage and is still boxed from the day it left England. I do plan to downsize and sell some things but I will be taking a number of things back with me including my record collection, motorcycle and of course my pooch!

 

 

Does the same legislation apply going back? E.G Will my dog need to go into quarantine? Will there be importation tax for my British motorcycle?

 

 

I’m doing the move on my own this time and I’m finding it incredibly daunting already. Any help or links to relevant info would be greatly appreciated :)

 

 

Thanks guys,

 

 

Paul

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Sorry to here your trouble Paul. I am also going through moving back and don't have all the answers. Your pet needs his injections up to date for the pet passport But unlike before we had to wait 6 month and they do quarantine in Australia in the comfort of there home now it is only a couple of weeks and then they are good to go. Once you arrive at Heathrow you just go and pick up. Otherwise they have 12month in the UK quarantine. I would think if your container is good to go you would just need to find a removal company and they have lots on this site and make your arrangements with them. I am not sure why you want to take your citizenship here if you are going home. Once you have got your pet and container sorted you are good to go and I wish you all the best can't for the life of me understand why nobody has answered you even crack pots get to have there problems answered. xx

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Sorry to here your trouble Paul. I am also going through moving back and don't have all the answers. Your pet needs his injections up to date for the pet passport But unlike before we had to wait 6 month and they do quarantine in Australia in the comfort of there home now it is only a couple of weeks and then they are good to go. Once you arrive at Heathrow you just go and pick up. Otherwise they have 12month in the UK quarantine. I would think if your container is good to go you would just need to find a removal company and they have lots on this site and make your arrangements with them. I am not sure why you want to take your citizenship here if you are going home. Once you have got your pet and container sorted you are good to go and I wish you all the best can't for the life of me understand why nobody has answered you even crack pots get to have there problems answered. xx

 

Hi Sheila,

 

Thanks for your reply, nice to know *someone* can be bothered! ;)

 

Just to clarify - I wasn't trying to air my dirty laundry on a public as such, I was simply sharing my experiences as I found it a relief to read that other ex-pats were feeling the same way about life here and also that some people had also experienced nightmare situations too. I found it comforting to know that I wasn't alone in my feelings as my dream was to always move to Australia having been a regular visitor since 1994 and I felt almost guilty that the call home of home is now stronger than the need/want to stay.

 

I have found out pretty much all of the information I needed since posting through reading other threads on here and also from my own research. $4400 all inclusive to ship my doggie, no quarantine in the UK and rabies shots and vet check 21 days prior to travel - sorted. The rest of it varies in price depending on how much I'm shipping from about $4000 for half a 20ft container (which will be my minimum space required) up to $7500-ish for a full 20ft container. I plan to downsize and sell off/donate a lot of stuff anyway so hopefully the $4k option should cover me. The most difficult part for me is whether to sell my motorbike or not. I'm struggling with that so I might just leave it with a friend to look after.

 

If there's any information you don't have then please let me know and I'll be happy to pass what I have learned thus far onto you :)

 

I will return at some point (I do not give up easily!) but right now I need to be with my folks as they getting older and I want to be closer to them. My friends too of course.

 

Thanks for taking the time to reply, I appreciate it :)

 

Have a great weekend,

 

Paul

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Sorry to hear about your troubles. I can't offer much in the way of advice (different situation, we're happy enough here but considering going back to the UK, but with kids and cats), but I can certainly empathise with you about missing family. My mother in law had treatment for breast cancer earlier this year, and although it looks like she should be fine, it sure is hard being all the way over here in Australia when she needs support.

 

I've no idea how much stuff you've got and can't offer any advice about whether to take your motorbike back, but I have heard people talk about movecubes (or move cubes, I can't remember), and I wondered if that might be an option if you intend to declutter? I've seen a couple of threads about them recently and they seem to be ideal for people who aren't moving much stuff. It may well work out cheaper than a part container.

 

Hope you manage to get everything sorted out.

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Hi Paul, I am very sorry to hear of your troubles and really hope that you can get your move planned quickly so that you can move on.

We are in the process of moving back too, albeit in different circumstances to you. We have a price for transporting a dog of around $3k so your price seems quite high. Check out Dogtainers they might come in cheaper. Once your dog has had the rabies shot you need to wait 21 days and then they can fly, pick up straight from the airport, no quarantine required. I believe pets can only fly into selected airports in the U.K., Manchester definitely being one of them so you need to check that out. With regards to your container have you thought about a Movecube? We are not using them ourselves as we are shipping quite a bit of furniture but they may be worth a look. There are a few posts on here about them. Check with shipping companies about your bike as they know all of the ins and outs but I thought as long as you have owned the bike for 12 months or more there would be no problem with shipping. We had a quote for my husbands bike and it is around $500 to have it included in our container in a special crate. Also one of the shipping companies in Perth had contacts with a place that transfer clocks from kilometres to miles and get the bike ready for registration on the UK roads, so worth checking that out too. Good luck, I really hope things work out and if you want any more info let me know.

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Hi everyone,

 

 

My name is Paul and I need your help!

 

 

I moved to Australia from England in Dec 2012 having married a girl from Melbourne. Not two months after arrival she announced that she no longer wanted to be married to me and I asked to leave. At this juncture I had no job nor did I have anywhere to live. Luckily I had some friends in Melbourne who were able to put me up for a short time. I then found another friend who had a room for a rent and then a job came along too and so I was able to prop myself up in my new country.

 

 

My dog also made the trek with me to Australia however, the apartment I was sharing was not dog friendly so some friends in Brisbane kindly offered to look after him for me until I could have him back. Some seven months had passed in Melbourne and I was unable to afford to move out and rent a bigger property in order to get him back in my life and so I left Melbourne and took a job in Brisbane to be with him and closer to my friends.

 

 

Moving from the U.K to Melbourne and then to Brisbane cleaned me out financially and I wasn’t able to make a trip home to visit until 3 years after arriving here. Suffice to say it was a very emotional experience. I have just come home from a second visit and have had to take two weeks leave as I pretty much crashed as soon I arrived and have felt incredible unrest since returning. My Dad’s partner was diagnosed with dementia and the last time I saw her she was fully functional. My Dad now has to do everything for her and it was heartbreaking to witness the demise of such a lovely lady. I feel racked with guilt for being on the other side of the world while this has been unfolding. Especially as I have no ‘real’ life here, more of an existence as such.

 

 

Like many on here, I miss my family and friends and (with the exception of a few good mates who are mostly all poms) have been unable to find any real connections with people on this side of the world. Similarly, I feel very disconnected and Australia has never really been somewhere I can call ‘home’.

 

 

Anyway, that’s my story per se. My next step is to apply for citizenship and I am just a few weeks to be able to go ahead. I have all of my supporting documents and I’m good to go. After that is the actual repatriation itself which is where I wondered if you could kindly point me in the right direction - maybe there’s an existing thread on here I should read?

 

 

Essentially, I’d like advise on the process of going home. I have a 20ft container with my life in it. Most of my stuff has been in storage and is still boxed from the day it left England. I do plan to downsize and sell some things but I will be taking a number of things back with me including my record collection, motorcycle and of course my pooch!

 

 

Does the same legislation apply going back? E.G Will my dog need to go into quarantine? Will there be importation tax for my British motorcycle?

 

 

I’m doing the move on my own this time and I’m finding it incredibly daunting already. Any help or links to relevant info would be greatly appreciated :)

 

 

Thanks guys,

 

 

Paul

 

Hey Paul- glad your sorted- we also moved here in 2012, will be doing citizenship & going home next year. We visited 3years ago (after baby #1) then in September thud year (after baby #2) & we have made the decision. Same reasons- folks are looking older. Think we're gpi g to do movecubes instead of container although been quoted for both.

Just wanted to wish you luck .

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Not sure if this helps, but I am also relocating and looked at importing my car to the UK. I called the UK dept about, cannot remember which one as was many months ago. They did not mention import tax.

 

Only thing was a few checks to comply with the UK standards, maybe a couple of conversions(cannot remember exactly but think part of the dashboard which displayed the speed, as only in kmph and not mph)

 

The best bet is to call the DLVA and discuss with them as they will give you the official answer.

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Hi Paul, I am very sorry to hear of your troubles and really hope that you can get your move planned quickly so that you can move on.

We are in the process of moving back too, albeit in different circumstances to you. We have a price for transporting a dog of around $3k so your price seems quite high. Check out Dogtainers they might come in cheaper. Once your dog has had the rabies shot you need to wait 21 days and then they can fly, pick up straight from the airport, no quarantine required. I believe pets can only fly into selected airports in the U.K., Manchester definitely being one of them so you need to check that out. With regards to your container have you thought about a Movecube? We are not using them ourselves as we are shipping quite a bit of furniture but they may be worth a look. There are a few posts on here about them. Check with shipping companies about your bike as they know all of the ins and outs but I thought as long as you have owned the bike for 12 months or more there would be no problem with shipping. We had a quote for my husbands bike and it is around $500 to have it included in our container in a special crate. Also one of the shipping companies in Perth had contacts with a place that transfer clocks from kilometres to miles and get the bike ready for registration on the UK roads, so worth checking that out too. Good luck, I really hope things work out and if you want any more info let me know.

 

Hi. Actually, my dog quote was through Dogtainers. The same price (give or take $100) came in via Jetpets too. He's 30 kilos and would be considered a medium size (unlike my friends who spent £7000GBP bring their Great Dane here, ouch!). It equates to about £2500GBP which I didn't think was too bad considering it cost me £4000GBP to bring him over. I've owned my bike since 2007, it came with me when I moved over so it's well travelled as my dog and me! I'll definitely check out Movecube and see what they're about, thanks for the heads up :)

 

Good luck with your move too, I hope it goes smoothly.

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Hey Paul- glad your sorted- we also moved here in 2012, will be doing citizenship & going home next year. We visited 3years ago (after baby #1) then in September thud year (after baby #2) & we have made the decision. Same reasons- folks are looking older. Think we're gpi g to do movecubes instead of container although been quoted for both.

Just wanted to wish you luck .

 

Hi. Thank you and the same to you and your family :)

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Not sure if this helps, but I am also relocating and looked at importing my car to the UK. I called the UK dept about, cannot remember which one as was many months ago. They did not mention import tax.

 

Only thing was a few checks to comply with the UK standards, maybe a couple of conversions(cannot remember exactly but think part of the dashboard which displayed the speed, as only in kmph and not mph)

 

The best bet is to call the DLVA and discuss with them as they will give you the official answer.

 

Ok, great. Thanks!

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Hi Paul

You are very welcome and thank you for your lovely reply and you offer to help very kind of you. You have already answered one question regarding the dog wasn't sure how long before leaving so that is great. Sadly my problems are too far ahead for you I am 68 so my worry is I receive both pensions and what can I be sure of when I return. There seems to be a different thing for everybody. I had a go yesterday about the HSBC apparently you can open an account with them for the UK I tried everything but couldn't see it on the site so that lady was very lucky. I think that is the key depends who you talk to you can get a different answer. Also do I take the car it was my late husbands so I am attached to it I will decide when I find out what I would have to do with it back in the UK. Anyway Paul I wish you all the very best in your move and I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas. xx

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Hi. Actually, my dog quote was through Dogtainers. The same price (give or take $100) came in via Jetpets too. He's 30 kilos and would be considered a medium size

 

Good luck with your move too, I hope it goes smoothly.

 

That will be why then, our dog only weighs about 8kg!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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That will be why then, our dog only weighs about 8kg!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Yes, it's all done on the size of the container they use in terms of cubic volume. The bigger the dog, the more it costs!

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Hi Paul

You are very welcome and thank you for your lovely reply and you offer to help very kind of you. You have already answered one question regarding the dog wasn't sure how long before leaving so that is great. Sadly my problems are too far ahead for you I am 68 so my worry is I receive both pensions and what can I be sure of when I return. There seems to be a different thing for everybody. I had a go yesterday about the HSBC apparently you can open an account with them for the UK I tried everything but couldn't see it on the site so that lady was very lucky. I think that is the key depends who you talk to you can get a different answer. Also do I take the car it was my late husbands so I am attached to it I will decide when I find out what I would have to do with it back in the UK. Anyway Paul I wish you all the very best in your move and I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas. xx

 

Glad my information was of some use. I understand the sentiment of the car too, I would take it back myself.

 

You have a great Xmas too, all the best :) x

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