Pension earned in Oz back to UK

[Enduro]

I have lived in Australia for the last 6 years and earned a good salary, paid taxes and paid into a super account in that time. i ahve a good amount built into my super.

After waiting a year and a half for a citizenship I am sick of waiting and I am thinking of leaving and to start with may well move back to the UK. 

Can I get back my super and take it to the UK, I am aware that people working on temp visas for 4 years got their money back.

What about the tax I have paid, can I get anything which is equivelent to national insurance?

If they do not want me as a citizen then I should be eligable to get back what I paid into their system.

If I wait till I am retired the fees would erode the fund into nothing if I do not pay into it any more.

Any help on what I would be able to get back and who to ask to start the process would be a great help, thanks.

 

[Gbye grey sky]

No, you cannot get it until you reach retirement age.  Make sure that you cancel all insurances and also look at funds with low fees.  You can anticipate growth in the fund.

Why has your citizenship application been rejected?

[Ken]

22 minutes ago, Enduro said:

I have lived in Australia for the last 6 years and earned a good salary, paid taxes and paid into a super account in that time. i ahve a good amount built into my super.

After waiting a year and a half for a citizenship I am sick of waiting and I am thinking of leaving and to start with may well move back to the UK. 

Can I get back my super and take it to the UK, I am aware that people working on temp visas for 4 years got their money back.

What about the tax I have paid, can I get anything which is equivelent to national insurance?

If they do not want me as a citizen then I should be eligable to get back what I paid into their system.

If I wait till I am retired the fees would erode the fund into nothing if I do not pay into it any more.

Any help on what I would be able to get back and who to ask to start the process would be a great help, thanks.

 

If you've applied for citizenship you must be on a Permanent Visa. On a permanent visa (or a citizen) you can't get your Super contributions until you reach preservation age (retirement age if you prefer UK terminology)

You are not eligible for the age pension if you leave Australia before retirement (nor are you eligible for it if you've spent less than 10 years in Australia).

Neither Super nor the Age Pension require citizenship. As a Permanent Visa holder you get them the same as any citizen.

[Enduro]

Ken

 

Thanks for the reply, my permanent resident will run out next year. They only last 4 or 5 years. These visas are only permanent if you do not leave the country after the 4 years of multiple entry the visa gives you.I may not qualift for citizenship as I have not been full time in the country in the last 4 years as I was abroad working, however i still lived in Australia and when abroad only staying on a camp in the dessert.  I applied with special circumstances and gave evidence, i have also paid taxes etc in that time.

If I get knocked back on the citizenship then they have considered me not living in the country even though ive paid tax and paid into a super account etc.

So given that I will not have a visa for Australia by next year and mabe not a citizen would I qualify to get my money back in my Super or actual pension contribution? 

[Marisawright]

Can I get back my super and take it to the UK? - No, only temporary residents can claim their super before they reach retirement age.

What about the tax I have paid, can I get anything which is equivelent to national insurance? -  no because there is no such thing in Australia.  The Australian aged pension isn't a separate fund which you paid into, like in the UK.  It's a benefit, the same as unemployment benefit or child benefit, payable only to people who are less well-off.  

When you return to the UK, you can apply to back-pay the NI contributions that you missed, if  you want.

If I wait till I am retired the fees would erode the fund into nothing if I do not pay into it any more. - Not true.  The money in your superannuation fund will go on earning interest and will go on rising in value.  If your employers have put you in a fund which charges high fees, transfer the money to Australian Super or Hostplus which charges low fees, AND tell them you are leaving the country and want to cancel all insurances.  That way you'll have minimal fees. 

 

[Enduro]

Thanks, i already have Australian super, if it isnt eroded away then I'm fine leaving it till then.

Thanks

[Marisawright]

16 minutes ago, Enduro said:

Thanks, i already have Australian super, if it isnt eroded away then I'm fine leaving it till then.

Just be sure to write to them and explain you're leaving the country, and you want to cancel all insurances.  The insurance probably won't be valid once you leave the country anyway (some are, if you can be bothered to check it all out but you do need to read all the terms and conditions to be sure). 

By the way, your permanent residence visa never runs out.  The only thing that runs out is your right to ENTER Australia.     You have the right to stay in Australia forever, without ever needing to apply for citizenship, provided you don't want to go overseas.   I know that probably doesn't suit your needs, but I know several migrants who've lived their whole lives in Australia without citizenship or RRV's because they're not interested in travel.  They're living here perfectly legally.

I have no idea how long a citizenship application normally takes, maybe someone else knows.  Is it worth following up to make sure it's not lost or something?  

Edited August 12, 2018 by Marisawright

[Enduro]

will do thanks !

Yeah the RRV is fine if you do not leave but my work takes me to leave every few weeks which doesnt suit.

I may well attain the citizenship but will still leave for a year or two for work, I own a house I can come back to and the wife is Australian so I can still get back in via other means if I need to.

The problem is that all the laws to do with taxes and residency do not match each other.

Edited August 12, 2018 by Enduro

[Slean Wolfhead]

8 hours ago, Marisawright said:

When you return to the UK, you can apply to back-pay the NI contributions that you missed, if  you want.

He can apply to pay them now and might get class 2 very cheap.

[Marisawright]

10 hours ago, Enduro said:

Yeah the RRV is fine if you do not leave but my work takes me to leave every few weeks which doesnt suit.

I think you mean PR is fine if you do not leave.  The RRV is the Resident Return Visa, which is the thing you apply for once your first five years are up, and it allows you to travel as much as you like.  Why don't you apply for one now, then you can stop worrying about how long the citizenship is taking?  Or did you already get one and they only gave you a year?

Edited August 12, 2018 by Marisawright

[EvieV]

Quote

I have no idea how long a citizenship application normally takes, maybe someone else knows

Enduro, have you received a letter to say you've been accepted as a citizen & that you're just now waiting for your ceremony date? Or have you not even got the letter of approval yet?

I phoned the Dept of Immigration and my local council last week to chase mine up.... My story is:  

• Applied for citizenship late September 2017.
• Received the "receipt of application" email 8th November 2017.
• Sat the knowledge test late December 2017.
• Received the approval letter 5th May 2018.
• Still waiting for a ceremony date....

According the the Dept of Immigration, it takes on average 17 months from receipt of application to citizenship ceremony, which personally is incredibly frustrating as I'm moving back to the UK in January 2019 and am not on the next two months' ceremony lists so am really hoping it happens in Nov/Dec otherwise it'll be too late.

 

[Marisawright]

31 minutes ago, EvieV said:

According the the Dept of Immigration, it takes on average 17 months from receipt of application to citizenship ceremony, which personally is incredibly frustrating as I'm moving back to the UK in January 2019 and am not on the next two months' ceremony lists so am really hoping it happens in Nov/Dec otherwise it'll be too late.

 

To be fair, the whole concept of citizenship is that you're so committed to staying in Australia that you want to become an Australian, so there is no urgency.   If you're not planning to leave the country, then you just get on with life while you wait for the application to go through, and apply for a RRV if you need to go on holiday.

You can't really expect them to have sympathy for people who just want citizenship because they want to leave Australia  for good, but use the citizenship as a safety net in case they change their minds. That's the opposite of what citizenship is meant to be about. 

I do understand that circumstances change.  I got citizenship for entirely selfish reasons too, in case I had to go back and look after aged parents.  But equally I can't expect the government to speed up their processes just because I want to use the system for my own selfish ends.

Edited August 13, 2018 by Marisawright

[EvieV]

Just stating my own personal circumstances in answer to the question. I actually applied for citizenship before we even decided to head back to England (which was only a few weeks ago). The reason being I had no vote in either country as I've been away from the UK for more than 15 years (almost 19 years here in Australia).

Having been accepted, it's frustrating to have to wait so long for the official ceremony but not the end of the world for me as I have permanent residency anyway.

 

[Marisawright]

27 minutes ago, EvieV said:

Just stating my own personal circumstances in answer to the question. I actually applied for citizenship before we even decided to head back to England

Having been accepted, it's frustrating to have to wait so long for the official ceremony but not the end of the world for me as I have permanent residency anyway.

Like I said, I'm not judging anyone who applies for citizenship as a safety net - I did the same thing.  Just saying that the system isn't designed for that situation so we can't expect them to cater for people who want to or need to leave the country.  

It won't be the end of the world, of course, but do bear in mind that your right to enter Australia will expire, and then you'll be locked out.  I assume you'll get  your RRV organised before you go, which means you''ll have another 5 years during which you can return if you wish to, but after that you're unlikely to get another one.

Edited August 13, 2018 by Marisawright

[Enduro]

Thanks for all the info

 

I applied for mine in june 2017, almost straight after recieved recieved status. it has been on that status ever since.

mean time my job finished end of last year and have had to work elsewhere so havent much choice as work is hard to come by in perth at present and despite applications Ive not been offered anything.

My perm visa was renewed a year or two ago so I am on a 4 year RRV or 2nd perm.  Either way I need to work elsewhere and as a result, come the end of my current visa I will not have had the time in country to extend another 4-5 years again hence I need citizenship just to continue scraping a living together.

I would welcome any info on how to find out from your local council (mine is Perth) to get some info on why its taken so long.  Does it help going into immigration physically? When i have called they can only repeat to say I will get an email at some point. i think on the website it shows 16 months being the longest processing times. I'm almost at 16 months....

I have paid my NIC's from Australia so should be fine with a class 1 pension, however its worth nothing really and essentially you cant live on it. Intention is to leave with work but come back when work permits me to.

 

[rammygirl]

If you have taken the citizenship test and been approved ( I am not entirely clear from your post if this is the case) you are now awaiting an invite for the ceremony itself. 

Although immigration send out lists of people who are approved your invite comes from your local council. Have you contacted them to ask when the next ceremony is. Ours was very helpful and I spoke to the person who organises it. You may even be able to arrange an emergency ceremony early or be moved up the queue if there is a backlog. 

[Enduro]

11 hours ago, rammygirl said:

If you have taken the citizenship test and been approved ( I am not entirely clear from your post if this is the case) you are now awaiting an invite for the ceremony itself. 

Although immigration send out lists of people who are approved your invite comes from your local council. Have you contacted them to ask when the next ceremony is. Ours was very helpful and I spoke to the person who organises it. You may even be able to arrange an emergency ceremony early or be moved up the queue if there is a backlog. 

Rammy girl, since submitting Ive heard nothing since June 2017. status: submitted

[rammygirl]

Reading back you applied with special circumstances as you did not have the required residency, is that correct?  I guess that takes longer to process.  

Not sure how the special circumstances thing works.  Our citizenship application will be 8 months from application to ceremony (later this month) that is good compared to many!  We did have the required residency though.

 

[Enduro]

Special circumstances is for people who FIFO essentially, as long as you prove you still live in AUS then you sould be ok.

There eager to take the tax etc off you but not so eager to return the favour.....

[Marisawright]

22 hours ago, Enduro said:

My perm visa was renewed a year or two ago so I am on a 4 year RRV or 2nd perm. 

OK just to repeat, it's worth getting your terminology right when discussing these things. You can't get a "2nd perm" because you only get one permanent resident visa, which lasts forever.  What you got was a 4 year RRV.  

Have you actually tried applying for another RRV?   

As for contacting your local council - look it up in the phone book and ring them.

Edited August 14, 2018 by Marisawright

[Nemesis]

2 hours ago, Marisawright said:

OK just to repeat, it's worth getting your terminology right when discussing these things. You can't get a "2nd perm" because you only get one permanent resident visa, which lasts forever.  What you got was a 4 year RRV.  

Have you actually tried applying for another RRV?   

As for contacting your local council - look it up in the phone book and ring them.

interesting in itself as RRVs are issued for 5 years, 1 year or 3 months. 

[Enduro]

Its a total con really the RRV, when applying you are told it is permanent residency, it is but only if you dont leave the country.

In this day and age that only covers a very small percentage of people.

[Marisawright]

19 hours ago, Enduro said:

Its a total con really the RRV, when applying you are told it is permanent residency, it is but only if you dont leave the country.

In this day and age that only covers a very small percentage of people.

Rubbish.   The average migrant manages very well with the travel arrangements, because you can go on holiday as often as you like without affecting your ability to get your next RRV.  In your case, you've been unlucky because you've been obliged to work overseas, which has affected your eligibility - but what percentage of migrants do you think end up working overseas?  

BTW you haven't answered my question - have you actually tried to apply for another RRV or are you just assuming you can't get one?  Because I was pretty sure the special conditions on your citizenship would work just as well when applying for a RRV.

Although TBH, you seem to have such a grudge against Australia, I wonder why you're even bothering.

Edited August 16, 2018 by Marisawright

[Nemesis]

On 15/08/2018 at 19:55, Enduro said:

Its a total con really the RRV, when applying you are told it is permanent residency, it is but only if you dont leave the country.

In this day and age that only covers a very small percentage of people.

Why is it a con? The rules are quite clear. Permanent Residency is just that, you have the right to live there permanently. 

And if you read the conditions of a PR visa its quite clear you get 5 years of multiple entry and then need a RRV or citizenship, Did you not read all thee conditions before applying?

[Enduro]

On 16/08/2018 at 15:25, Marisawright said:

Rubbish.   The average migrant manages very well with the travel arrangements, because you can go on holiday as often as you like without affecting your ability to get your next RRV.  In your case, you've been unlucky because you've been obliged to work overseas, which has affected your eligibility - but what percentage of migrants do you think end up working overseas?  

BTW you haven't answered my question - have you actually tried to apply for another RRV or are you just assuming you can't get one?  Because I was pretty sure the special conditions on your citizenship would work just as well when applying for a RRV.

Although TBH, you seem to have such a grudge against Australia, I wonder why you're even bothering.

you cant go on holiday as much as you like, to get the next visa you need to have stayed in country for a specified amount of time within that visa time period - i know this as I was very close to the edge on applying for my second visa. For the average joe thats fine, however if you happen to fly out of the country a lot on business it does effect things. There are a lot of people who do this, more than you may initially think.

I've no grudge except for people who assume something and post based on what they assume - when did I say anything about hating the country?

I have lived in numerous countries including Australia, there is good and bad in all places and its always what you make it. I made my stay good but I go where the work is and enjoy each new place.

As far as bothering with whatever you are on about, I started this with a simple question on pensions, nothing to do with visa's if you care to read the initial post, Ive that covered.  

 

I wont read any more replies from you as you are very small minded