Financial planning help!

[JSummer]

Hi,

Just looking for some advice really, and wondering if anyone has used or has a recommendation for a financial planner, or immigration specialist who can provide advice on moving to to Australia from the UK in terms of finances and asset management.

I have a spousal visa which I activated last year just before the 1 year deadline, and now need to have fully emigrated with my partner by 2026.

In the UK I own my home outright with no mortgage and I rent this house out for a rental income, my partner and I also have a 2nd property which we own together however on this house we have a mortgage which is relatively new so in the early stages of paying it off. 

I'm so lost with the information which is out there in terms of selling up and transferring all funds to Australia to purchase a home, or whether to keep a rental in the UK. And would like some professional advice on how best to manage the move. Just want to ensure we make the right decisions for our financial situation to give us the best start on our new life in Australia.

Any help, or recommendation of help would be HUGELY appreciated!

Thank you

[Marisawright]

3 hours ago, JSummer said:

Just looking for some advice really, and wondering if anyone has used or has a recommendation for a financial planner, or immigration specialist who can provide advice on moving to to Australia from the UK in terms of finances and asset management...

In the UK I own my home outright with no mortgage and I rent this house out for a rental income, my partner and I also have a 2nd property which we own together however on this house we have a mortgage which is relatively new so in the early stages of paying it off. 

I'm so lost with the information which is out there in terms of selling up and transferring all funds to Australia to purchase a home, or whether to keep a rental in the UK. And would like some professional advice on how best to manage the move. Just want to ensure we make the right decisions for our financial situation to give us the best start on our new life in Australia.

Managing the move is relatively simple, and I'm not sure there's any need for financial planning.  The basics to consider are:

If you sell up a property while you are still resident in the UK, and you get the money paid into your the bank while you are still residing in the UK, then as far as the Australian taxman is concerned, that is just savings, and you can transfer it to Oz without any Australian tax implications.  Use a foreign exchange service like Wise to transfer the funds, to get the best rate.

Do not close all your British bank accounts.  Firstly, it can take time to get your Australian account and credit cards fully set up, so you'll need to use your British account/cards for the first few weeks (and you'll have no problem doing so).  Secondly, you'll find a British account/card surprisingly useful in the future for buying Christmas presents for UK relatives, holidays, etc.  A word of warning:  some banks, especially Barclays, won't let you keep your British account once you move overseas.  I'd recommend moving your everyday accounts to HSBC now, because we know they won't close you down.  As a bonus, they'll let you open a fully functional Australian account before you leave, which most banks won't. 

If you have ISA's, and don't need the money now, I'd strongly recommend keeping them, because there is no equivalent to ISAs in Australia (we Aussies are envious!).  If you give up your ISA's, you won't be able to open any new ones, even though you're a British citizen. Only UK residents can open an ISA.

If you have a private pension, don't even think about transferring it to an Australian superannuation fund, until you are 150% cast-iron positive that you'll be spending the rest of your life in Australia.  I say that because once you've transferred it to an Australian fund, there is no way to transfer it back to a UK fund again.  And if you're living in the UK in retirement and need to access your Australian super, you'll lose a large chunk of it to the British taxman.  

So, the only thing you really need to think about is your properties -- and for those, I think you need tax advice, not financial planning advice.  I'd be speaking to @Alan Collett to fully understand that aspect of things.   It's important to use a tax adviser (like Alan) who knows the tax regimes in both the UK and Australia and how they inter-relate.  

Edited January 10, 2024 by Marisawright

[InnerVoice]

On 10/01/2024 at 10:38, Marisawright said:

Managing the move is relatively simple, and I'm not sure there's any need for financial planning.  The basics to consider are:

If you sell up a property while you are still resident in the UK, and you get the money paid into your the bank while you are still residing in the UK, then as far as the Australian taxman is concerned, that is just savings, and you can transfer it to Oz without any Australian tax implications.  Use a foreign exchange service like Wise to transfer the funds, to get the best rate.

Do not close all your British bank accounts.  Firstly, it can take time to get your Australian account and credit cards fully set up, so you'll need to use your British account/cards for the first few weeks (and you'll have no problem doing so).  Secondly, you'll find a British account/card surprisingly useful in the future for buying Christmas presents for UK relatives, holidays, etc.  A word of warning:  some banks, especially Barclays, won't let you keep your British account once you move overseas.  I'd recommend moving your everyday accounts to HSBC now, because we know they won't close you down.  As a bonus, they'll let you open a fully functional Australian account before you leave, which most banks won't. 

If you have ISA's, and don't need the money now, I'd strongly recommend keeping them, because there is no equivalent to ISAs in Australia (we Aussies are envious!).  If you give up your ISA's, you won't be able to open any new ones, even though you're a British citizen. Only UK residents can open an ISA.

If you have a private pension, don't even think about transferring it to an Australian superannuation fund, until you are 150% cast-iron positive that you'll be spending the rest of your life in Australia.  I say that because once you've transferred it to an Australian fund, there is no way to transfer it back to a UK fund again.  And if you're living in the UK in retirement and need to access your Australian super, you'll lose a large chunk of it to the British taxman.  

So, the only thing you really need to think about is your properties -- and for those, I think you need tax advice, not financial planning advice.  I'd be speaking to @Alan Collett to fully understand that aspect of things.   It's important to use a tax adviser (like Alan) who knows the tax regimes in both the UK and Australia and how they inter-relate.  

That's excellent advice, and the only thing I might add is keep your UK mobile service active so that once you arrive in Australia you will still be able to access your UK bank accounts, and other UK services that require 2FA. If you cancel your UK mobile service before you leave then you'll not be able to receive any authentication SMSs to update your details to your Australian number. I appreciate that many banks have now moved over to app-based authentication, but there's still a lot of organisations using the older method.

[rammygirl]

Regarding the isa.
They are not tax free in Australia so you will pay tax to the ATO on the interest and on any gains when cashing in any shares.

[InnerVoice]

15 minutes ago, rammygirl said:

Regarding the isa.
They are not tax free in Australia so you will pay tax to the ATO on the interest and on any gains when cashing in any shares.

That's true. However, ISA providers are not permitted to allow UK non-residents to open ISAs, so there isn't a requirement for them to capture dual-tax reporting information. If you have an ISA it's going to be pretty much invisible to the ATO, unless you tell them. I'm not suggesting anyone evades tax, of course - I pay all my taxes like a good little fishy.

[AnneR]

On 09/01/2024 at 23:12, JSummer said:

Hi,

Just looking for some advice really, and wondering if anyone has used or has a recommendation for a financial planner, or immigration specialist who can provide advice on moving to to Australia from the UK in terms of finances and asset management.

I have a spousal visa which I activated last year just before the 1 year deadline, and now need to have fully emigrated with my partner by 2026.

In the UK I own my home outright with no mortgage and I rent this house out for a rental income, my partner and I also have a 2nd property which we own together however on this house we have a mortgage which is relatively new so in the early stages of paying it off. 

I'm so lost with the information which is out there in terms of selling up and transferring all funds to Australia to purchase a home, or whether to keep a rental in the UK. And would like some professional advice on how best to manage the move. Just want to ensure we make the right decisions for our financial situation to give us the best start on our new life in Australia.

Any help, or recommendation of help would be HUGELY appreciated! I understand that the prospect of finding the right advisor might seem daunting, but platforms like ico-forums can indeed be valuable resources for connecting with professionals who have expertise in various aspects of finance and immigration.

Thank you

Hi there,

Navigating the complexities of financial planning and immigration can indeed be overwhelming, especially when considering a move as significant as yours from the UK to Australia. It's commendable that you're seeking professional advice to ensure the smoothest transition possible.