Finding a way to move back..

[Sarahelle]

Hello all,

I dip in and out of here just to see where everyone is at

So after nearly 9 years of Oz, I want to go home - unfortunately, it is not that easy although my husband is willing. 

Since my husband is Australian and I don't want to leave half of my family here to go and find a job in the UK (me being the British one) we were wondering how we could come up with the finances to go the savings route instead.  

I do have a pension in the UK, but that's not enough, so I was wondering if anyone has ever had to use or been in a position to use their inheritance? It's not something I want to do, but since the money only has to sit in my account for a while, I would be willing to do it and if of course, my parents are willing for me to do it.  I just can't come up with any other way of possibly coming up with that amount of money (65K or thereabouts) and I'm not really keen on being here until I'm 50 which isn't so far away.

Just a thought.

Thanks guys xx 

[Marisawright]

Are you aware that having money in your home counts as savings?

You don’t even have to finalise the sale before you apply, you just need proof that you’ve sold it and proof that you’ll have enough money left over after paying off the mortgage to satisfy the requirements 

Otherwise if you are using cash, you need evidence that you have held the savings in a bank account for at least twelve months.

[VERYSTORMY]

As Marisa says, money from the sale of your home is exempt from the requirements of having held it for a long period. 

[Sarahelle]

Thanks ladies.  Unfortunately, despite being here for a long time, we decided not to purchase a house so that isn't an option for us.  It would definitely have made life easier, but there you go.  So this is one of the reasons why we need to find the money elsewhere.  I just don't know what to do. No one I know can 'gift' the money to us.  I'm not putting down Australia, but moving here was a big mistake for us sadly.

Btw, I thought that the money had to be in your account for six months - has that changed to 12 months now?

Thanks x  

[Marisawright]

1 hour ago, Sarahelle said:

, I thought that the money had to be in your account for six months - has that changed to 12 months now?

It was twelve months when we did it but that was in 2015.  

Have you considered going back to Europe instead as a second-best solution?   There are lots of areas in Spain and Portugal which are so full of English expats, you'd think you were in England.   If you're a British citizen, your husband has a right to remain with you as the spouse of an EU citizen. You don't have to do anything before you leave Australia - you just arrive, go and register yourself at the local police station, then there is a whole stack of bureaucracy to go through, but at least you'd be there. You'd have to get your skates on, though, because it would be wise to get there and get the process started before the Brexit deadline.  

Both the EU and the UK have made numerous statements promising that any Brits settled in Europe before the deadline won't be turfed out.

At least then you'd be closer to home and family would probably love to visit you for holidays

Edited May 14, 2019 by Marisawright

[Sarahelle]

Well it's an option and at least a flight home would only be a couple of hours not to mention a few thousand dollars cheaper lol. 

Thank you for the advice Marisa, it is appreciated.  I'll talk to my husband about it.  

[Marisawright]

Here is the information about how it works:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/residency-requirements-in-spain

However looking at that info, I recall that some European countries have introduced financial requirements too, so you'd need to check that out.  The advantage is that, unlike the UK, you can arrive together, look for jobs and then apply without having to leave the country - whereas the UK insists that the spouse has to apply from their home country.  Of course the disadvantage is that it's going to be harder to find work in a non-English-speaking country.   

I wonder what the rules are for Ireland?

Edited May 14, 2019 by Marisawright