moving back to Scotland after 15 yrs with the Aussie wife

[jimmyinoz]

So ...went home for a wee holiday 2018 and i had the usual spell of "missing my mountains and glens "  but to my surprise my Australian partner  said shed never felt more at home anywhere , anyway ive been travelling since i was about 14  and as i approach a ripe old age of 60 i think its time to "Gan Hame". Now my question is  [and i guess youve heard of this visa stuff a million times ]  my darling wife  has to apply for a spouse visa [as i did to come here ].We satisfy most of the requirements the only one causing me confusinion is the financial requirement.  I have $140000 in super  i have reached the age at which i can withdraw it [by sept on my 60th birthday  this will be tax free] Can i use the period that its in my super account as part of the 6 month cash savings period   we wont be applying until nov at which point it will have been in my bank account for 3 months . My idea was to provide my yearly statement[in july ] as proof of funds combined with the 3 months in my savings account ,i can draw it out now but id rather wait until the tax free option becomes available for obvious reasons . we have lived as a couple for 7 yrs and we are getting married in march [finally lol ] we have no dependents [they've all grown up and left ] i have a good job here and my boss says he will give me casual work after i retire in Sept until we leave in January next. 

[tea4too]

Sorry Jimmy I can't help with your practical questions but other members including @Marisawright will hopefully be along to advise on some of the financial implications of relocating back to the UK. @VERYSTORMY and @LKC also moved back to Scotland in recent years and have both settled very happily. Good luck with the adventure! As you know, you are returning to a beautiful part of the UK . T x

[LKC]

Yep, like tea4too says, no idea about the financial side of things, but we moved to Scotland from Aus about 2.5 years ago, having never lived here before, and it is the absolute best thing I have ever done in my life! 

We lived in Sydney for about 9 years, but the pull of home started to become too much to bear. We came over to the UK for a holiday in 2016, and visited Scotland as part of that holiday. I absolutely fell in love with the place, and pretty much cried my way down the A1(M) etc on our way back to my ex's parents house in Kent, where we were staying for the last few days before we flew back to Aus. We moved over in September 2017 (me, my ex, our two primary school aged children, and four cats), and moved to a gorgeous village to the west of Kinross. Husband and I have since separated, but the kids and I have found ourselves immersed in the most amazing community, into which we have been welcomed with open arms! I feel more at home here than I have ever felt anywhere in my life. Like I was always meant to be here! I have since retrained for a new career, have started my own business, met a lovely man, and the kids are happy and settled in their new life, with plenty of friends and both doing well at school. The people are friendly, the place is absolutely gorgeous (honestly I don't think I'll ever get tired of walking in the hills where we live), and I don't have even a single regret about moving here

Have you any idea where you'd like to live?

[Marisawright]

We were told that we couldn't use our super even though it was accessible.  We didn't pursue that further as we had savings in the bank because we'd sold our house some time previously.   I'd say it's worth investigating that a bit further though.

Do you have a house to sell?   If so, that can be used to satisfy the financial requirement:  You must have already found a buyer, but you don't need to have the money in your hands yet - you just need a solicitor's letter proving that it's been sold and showing the amount you're going to receive. 

Good idea to cash the super before you move.   Once it's in the bank, it's just savings and safe from the taxman in either country (if you waited till after you leave Australia, the British taxman would take a third of it!).  

The only downside of leaving now is that neither of you will be able to claim the Australian govt pension, ever (even your partner - being an Australian makes no difference).  As you don't have a large amount in superannuation, this may be a concern - what will you live on in your old age?

You should contact the International Pension Centre to get a British pension forecast and arrange to backpay your missed NI contributions, so you can get as much British pension as possible. That's obviously not an option for your partner, so that is something to consider. 

https://www.gov.uk/international-pension-centre

[jimmyinoz]

3 hours ago, Marisawright said:

We were told that we couldn't use our super even though it was accessible.  We didn't pursue that further as we had savings in the bank because we'd sold our house some time previously.   I'd say it's worth investigating that a bit further though.

Do you have a house to sell?   If so, that can be used to satisfy the financial requirement:  You must have already found a buyer, but you don't need to have the money in your hands yet - you just need a solicitor's letter proving that it's been sold and showing the amount you're going to receive. 

Good idea to cash the super before you move.   Once it's in the bank, it's just savings and safe from the taxman in either country (if you waited till after you leave Australia, the British taxman would take a third of it!).  

The only downside of leaving now is that neither of you will be able to claim the Australian govt pension, ever (even your partner - being an Australian makes no difference).  As you don't have a large amount in superannuation, this may be a concern - what will you live on in your old age?

You should contact the International Pension Centre to get a British pension forecast and arrange to backpay your missed NI contributions, so you can get as much British pension as possible. That's obviously not an option for your partner, so that is something to consider. 

https://www.gov.uk/international-pension-centre

 Thanks Marrisa ill let you guys know how we get on with that .

I dont intend to retire per say  but carry on working when i get home until we find a business to invest in or start after which well buy a house in the west of Scotland where im from and most of my large family still live  My wife is a good deal younger than me with excellent qualifications so i dont see her having any difficulty supporting herself in the future , ive looked at my UK pension and ill back pay my NI to bring that up 

[jimmyinoz]

6 hours ago, LKC said:

Yep, like tea4too says, no idea about the financial side of things, but we moved to Scotland from Aus about 2.5 years ago, having never lived here before, and it is the absolute best thing I have ever done in my life! 

We lived in Sydney for about 9 years, but the pull of home started to become too much to bear. We came over to the UK for a holiday in 2016, and visited Scotland as part of that holiday. I absolutely fell in love with the place, and pretty much cried my way down the A1(M) etc on our way back to my ex's parents house in Kent, where we were staying for the last few days before we flew back to Aus. We moved over in September 2017 (me, my ex, our two primary school aged children, and four cats), and moved to a gorgeous village to the west of Kinross. Husband and I have since separated, but the kids and I have found ourselves immersed in the most amazing community, into which we have been welcomed with open arms! I feel more at home here than I have ever felt anywhere in my life. Like I was always meant to be here! I have since retrained for a new career, have started my own business, met a lovely man, and the kids are happy and settled in their new life, with plenty of friends and both doing well at school. The people are friendly, the place is absolutely gorgeous (honestly I don't think I'll ever get tired of walking in the hills where we live), and I don't have even a single regret about moving here

Have you any idea where you'd like to live?

yeah my missus was of the same mind ,shes of Italian /Dutch descent but born in Tamworth NSW never been to Caledonia but felt like its was home .We will probably live in Ayrshire  where im from 

 

Edited February 15, 2020 by jimmyinoz

[Toots]

3 minutes ago, jimmyinoz said:

yeah my missus was of the same mind ,shes of Italian /Dutch descent but born in Tamworth NSW never been to Caledonia but felt like its was home .We will probably live in Ayrshire  where im from 

 

Ayrshire is very nice especially on the coast.  We used to go on school trips to Girvan and a couple of times to Culzean Castle. 

Good luck with your move.  

 

[jimmyinoz]

Soooo a bit of an update since we last posted ..The worlds turned to shit !!!   my employer wants me to stick to my original plan of retiring in Sept ,{i know he cant force me  but hes a new business owner and likely to stress  so who knows ] ,another issue is my super [like evryone elses] took a severe hit in March

So i took it out of the balanced investment option and put it in a cash investment plan  that seems to have plugged the hole that my money was dissappearing down ,Im not making anything but not losing 7k a week either .  The revised plan is now to retire officially on 3 Sept find a bit of casual work till My other halfs visa comes through and hope the UK is returning to some form of normality by January . We now dont have enough savings to satify the  financial part of her visa but i do have an "offer" of a job that should satisfy the 18600 salary requirement plus were only short of a few thouseand so i can show that to the Immigration people .Further to that weve decided to bite the bullet and  go with a Immigration agent any referrals would be greatly appriciated cheers ..a lot of variables now ..

[Marisawright]

38 minutes ago, jimmyinoz said:

Soooo a bit of an update since we last posted ..The worlds turned to shit !!!   my employer wants me to stick to my original plan of retiring in Sept ,{i know he cant force me  but hes a new business owner and likely to stress  so who knows ] ,another issue is my super [like evryone elses] took a severe hit in March

So i took it out of the balanced investment option and put it in a cash investment plan  that seems to have plugged the hole that my money was dissappearing down ,Im not making anything but not losing 7k a week either .  The revised plan is now to retire officially on 3 Sept find a bit of casual work till My other halfs visa comes through and hope the UK is returning to some form of normality by January . We now dont have enough savings to satify the  financial part of her visa but i do have an "offer" of a job that should satisfy the 18600 salary requirement plus were only short of a few thouseand so i can show that to the Immigration people .Further to that weve decided to bite the bullet and  go with a Immigration agent any referrals would be greatly appriciated cheers ..a lot of variables now ..

You don't need a migration agent for the UK partner visa.  it's a  different kettle of fish from the Australian one.  The Australian one is more subjective because there's a lot more emphasis on proving your relationship is genuine, and it's useful to have an agent who can help you put all that together.  Whereas the British one is mainly about meeting the financial requirement.

First you submit the online application. Then you need to print off and complete Appendix 2, which is where you prove you meet the financial requirement, and show that you have a place to live when you arrive.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/733638/VAF4A-Appendix2-08-18.pdf

When we did it, we used my sister's address as our UK address because she has a good-sized house with a spare bedroom.  We got her agreement beforehand and worked out how we would manage if we lived there long term - not because we had any intention, but just to be ready if Immigration asked either of us what we planned to do. 

We didn't submit any proof of relationship apart from our marriage certificate, but I believe they are asking for a bit more evidence now, e.g. proof you're living at the same address, shared bills etc.

Edited April 26, 2020 by Marisawright

[jimmyinoz]

thanks Marisa, thatll save us a few grand ,, hows life back home so far ?

 

[Marisawright]

1 hour ago, jimmyinoz said:

thanks Marisa, thatll save us a few grand ,, hows life back home so far ?

 

Actually we’re back in Australia! 

I never ever felt homesick for Scotland, moving back was a logical decision based on neither my oh nor me having any family left in Australia. Plus my oh loves travelling round Europe. 

I discovered that after 30+ years in Australia, I’ve become too Aussie and felt like a foreigner in the UK. So we came back and I’m happy as a pig in mud, or was until this stupid virus hit

[AliQ]

On 14/02/2020 at 13:34, jimmyinoz said:

So ...went home for a wee holiday 2018 and i had the usual spell of "missing my mountains and glens "  but to my surprise my Australian partner  said shed never felt more at home anywhere , anyway ive been travelling since i was about 14  and as i approach a ripe old age of 60 i think its time to "Gan Hame". Now my question is  [and i guess youve heard of this visa stuff a million times ]  my darling wife  has to apply for a spouse visa [as i did to come here ].We satisfy most of the requirements the only one causing me confusinion is the financial requirement.  I have $140000 in super  i have reached the age at which i can withdraw it [by sept on my 60th birthday  this will be tax free] Can i use the period that its in my super account as part of the 6 month cash savings period   we wont be applying until nov at which point it will have been in my bank account for 3 months . My idea was to provide my yearly statement[in july ] as proof of funds combined with the 3 months in my savings account ,i can draw it out now but id rather wait until the tax free option becomes available for obvious reasons . we have lived as a couple for 7 yrs and we are getting married in march [finally lol ] we have no dependents [they've all grown up and left ] i have a good job here and my boss says he will give me casual work after i retire in Sept until we leave in January next. 

Hi jimmyinoz, just want to add, don't close any doors on Australia if you return to the UK, you may want to go back at some stage.

We're currently on our second go at living in the UK after 28+ years in Australia, and we're returning as soon as flights and international removalist's can return to work.

The UK is a great place to live, but at the end of the day it all depends on what and how you like to spend your days. We miss the weather, beaches and getting a beach side breakfast at 06.00 !

Good luck with your move.