The Brand New PIO Parents Visa thread

[chudleighval]

Hi pam expect we have passed your house...we are on the kennet and avon at reading right now ..having being moored around devises for the past few years ... We are going onto the thames tomorrow and heading north...

Emirates where brilliant...once at heathrow and after explaining the need to get there I went from 12 th in the queue to top...rushed me through the gates ...on the second leg i had a free upgrade and two kids ruck sacks full of stuff for daisy and tom...we have always flown with them since...

Val

[Linday]

Just managed to grab a few minutes to update everyone on what is going on. We received our Visas on 16th May, exchanged contracts on our house last Monday, have booked the movers (Pickfords) for next Friday, the container for the 8th June, we will complete on the house on 9th and fly out to Melbourne on the 12th! It's all go now - we really thought we had organised ourselves pretty well over the last 15 months waiting for the Visa, but there is still so much to do - but the list is getting slightly shorter every day and the ticks are increasing! We have suffered with sleepless nights worrying about "the process" - we don't have any concerns about moving to Australia, but the getting there is very stressful, and we have felt that we have not been coping very well. Of course the farewells are emotional and difficult as well.

 

It will be so worth it though - this morning's phone conversation with our daughter, included our grandaughter telling us what she is going to do "when Nanny and Grandad come to live with them" - she is going to play shops and do reading with Grandad, and have kisses and cuddles with Nanny - and go swimming with Nanny!" Can't wait!

 

Continued good luck to everyone ! Gill

 

Hi DavidandGill

 

This so echoes our own experience. I agree the countdown process is extremely stressful and we have felt that we are not coping at times. Plus the sleepless nights when you wake up and remember something vital you have forgotten! Finally think we are getting there though. We realised just how much we relied on our car as, having sold it last week, we are now stuck to take stuff to the tip. We decided to rent one for the last week, so we can still get out and about to take a last look at places (when we have time!). I think it's doubly stressful when you have also just sold the house. So much to organise. On top of which we have both been quite ill with colds this week as well, something we could really do without. Anyway, light at the end of the tunnel at last. It is worth it in the end and as I used to tell my daughter just before she emigrated when she was emotional and stressed out: nothing worthwhile ever comes easily.

[Linday]

Oh Chudleighval, how I feel for you when your Daisy was ill. So glad to hear she is better now.

Also good to hear that you can jump a flight pretty quickly when necessary. I live just a bit further down the m4 from you (by the K&A canal!) and it has crossed my mind before just what would you do in those dreadful circumstances.

I have just returned from Heathrow, taking my daughter and grandson to go back to Sydney. I feel pretty lousy now, even though I have two granddaughters here.

It is pretty inspiring to hear stories like yours, thank you for sharing.

Sure all will go well with the meds and you'll soon be back on the other side.

Cheers Pam

 

Some of you might be interested in Kinsure www.kinsure.co.uk It's an insurance policy for just such emergencies if you have family abroad. There is an age limit for the family of 75 so won't really work for elderly parents, but if you have children and grandchildren abroad it is ideal. Costs about £110 for a single person to take out and £160 for a couple. In a medical emergency they arrange all the flights for you and even accommodation if needed.

 

We have one and my daughter in Australia also has a policy. I have now taken one out for my son as well as he is being left behind here for a while and will have most of his close family in Oz.

[Stellathedog]

Some of you might be interested in Kinsure www.kinsure.co.uk It's an insurance policy for just such emergencies if you have family abroad. There is an age limit for the family of 75 so won't really work for elderly parents, but if you have children and grandchildren abroad it is ideal. Costs about £110 for a single person to take out and £160 for a couple. In a medical emergency they arrange all the flights for you and even accommodation if needed.

 

We have one and my daughter in Australia also has a policy. I have now taken one out for my son as well as he is being left behind here for a while and will have most of his close family in Oz.

 

Many thanks for this.

Have you, or anyone you know, used them? I'm always a bit twitchy with insurance policies and what they will or will not cover.

It certainly sounds a good idea anyway, so thanks again.

Pam

[Linday]

Many thanks for this.

Have you, or anyone you know, used them? I'm always a bit twitchy with insurance policies and what they will or will not cover.

It certainly sounds a good idea anyway, so thanks again.

Pam

 

 

No fortunately we haven't had occasion to use it. But it was recommended to me by someone on another forum.

[Guest]

Hi all

Since we are getting so close now thought it was time we started our training for the Aussi lifestyle properly.:wink: Went shopping yesterday and bought a jar of Vegemite:yellow_guy_crazy_ty

[chudleighval]

Cheesy vegemite is scrummy ...

[Guest]

Hi all

Since we are getting so close now thought it was time we started our training for the Aussi lifestyle properly.:wink: Went shopping yesterday and bought a jar of Vegemite:yellow_guy_crazy_ty

Tim tams are another Aussie traditional thing. They are exactly the same as Penguin biscuits!

[jtct]

Tim tams are another Aussie traditional thing. They are exactly the same as Penguin biscuits!

 

...but with more chocolate and a slight 'crunchie' (honeycomb) flavour, Best way to eat them is to bite off diagonally opposite corners and suck your tea or coffee through them (so I'm told) Haven't tried it yet but seen it done!

[Guest Cakey]

Hi can anyone help me with a query I have. What is the best way to transfer your UK pension to Australia? We have ours paid into our Bank account, but I've been reading some of the threads on here and they say some banks charge around £42 per transfer! that's a big lump out of your state pension, especially as it's frozen from the time you leave England.

 

Cheers Cakey

[Guest]

Hi can anyone help me with a query I have. What is the best way to transfer your UK pension to Australia? We have ours paid into our Bank account, but I've been reading some of the threads on here and they say some banks charge around £42 per transfer! that's a big lump out of your state pension, especially as it's frozen from the time you leave England.

 

Cheers Cakey

 

Hi Cakey

Depends on your finances BUT if you can get to the situation that you will be transfering at least £1000 then you can do it via Ozforex or Ukforex (same company). Have internet access to the UK account, set up an account with Ozforex and track the exchange rate. When you are ready, you can confirm a deal with Ozforex, you will know the rate you are getting as you do it online, (once you have got a quote you will see how it works). They will ring you to confirm the deal and then you transfer the money via BACS (takes about 4 days to clear) and they then pay the money direct to your Aus (or any other) bank account. If you transfer less than £3000 you will be charged a flat £7 fee.

Over £3000 the exchange is free of any additional charge. The more you change the better the rate, but on a £1000 transfer expect to "loose" about 2c in the pound of the published "bank" rate.

The beauty is you can change monies at any time of day or night and if you use BACS the transfer costs nothing.

PM me if you want more detail.

I suggest Ozforex as I have changed money many times and never had a problem. It also helps when you can do it anywhere in the world provided you have internet access.

[Julian927]

Hi Cakey

Depends on your finances BUT if you can get to the situation that you will be transfering at least £1000 then you can do it via Ozforex or Ukforex (same company). Have internet access to the UK account, set up an account with Ozforex and track the exchange rate. When you are ready, you can confirm a deal with Ozforex, you will know the rate you are getting as you do it online, (once you have got a quote you will see how it works). They will ring you to confirm the deal and then you transfer the money via BACS (takes about 4 days to clear) and they then pay the money direct to your Aus (or any other) bank account. If you transfer less than £3000 you will be charged a flat £7 fee.

Over £3000 the exchange is free of any additional charge. The more you change the better the rate, but on a £1000 transfer expect to "loose" about 2c in the pound of the published "bank" rate.

The beauty is you can change monies at any time of day or night and if you use BACS the transfer costs nothing.

PM me if you want more detail.

I suggest Ozforex as I have changed money many times and never had a problem. It also helps when you can do it anywhere in the world provided you have internet access.

UK Forex is very good too. They don't charge a fee provided you move £3000 at a time. I definitely decided against having it done automatically as you would lose out on the exchange rate - I know - we are all losing out on the exchange rate....but at least we can decided how little we are prepared to accept for our pension!

Julie

[cathandtone]

Hi can anyone help me with a query I have. What is the best way to transfer your UK pension to Australia? We have ours paid into our Bank account, but I've been reading some of the threads on here and they say some banks charge around £42 per transfer! that's a big lump out of your state pension, especially as it's frozen from the time you leave England.

 

Cheers Cakey

 

Hi Cakey

Just contact your pension providers (including state) and they will pay your pension straight to your Aus bank account. Government providers do not make a charge, other providers do make a small charge. Have to say I am having difficulty with one of my occupational pensions (don't read into this statement that I am rolling in it lol) who are still paying my pension into my UK bank account as they say that they can't do it because australian account numbers are 9 digits and they can only pay 8 digit accounts. Anyone had this problem. I'm not quite sure what to do.

Cath

[charlie5]

Hi Cakey

Just contact your pension providers (including state) and they will pay your pension straight to your Aus bank account. Government providers do not make a charge, other providers do make a small charge. Have to say I am having difficulty with one of my occupational pensions (don't read into this statement that I am rolling in it lol) who are still paying my pension into my UK bank account as they say that they can't do it because australian account numbers are 9 digits and they can only pay 8 digit accounts. Anyone had this problem. I'm not quite sure what to do.

Cath

 

Hi Cath

 

You need to give them the international account number. Your Aussie bank should be able to tell you this. Their comment about 8 digit accounts is rubbish, don't let them fob you off!!

 

Best of luck

 

Charlie

[sandch]

Hi can anyone help me with a query I have. What is the best way to transfer your UK pension to Australia? We have ours paid into our Bank account, but I've been reading some of the threads on here and they say some banks charge around £42 per transfer! that's a big lump out of your state pension, especially as it's frozen from the time you leave England.

 

Cheers Cakey

 

To sum up what others have posted really:

 

If you want control of the transfer, so that you can choose the best forex provider (see other posts), it makes sense to accumulate the funds in sterling in a UK account until you have a critical mass (£3,000), then make the transfer at a time and rate to suit you.

 

It's been mentioned that pension providers will pay directly into an Australian bank account. However the problem I can see with this is that the receiving bank will then do the conversion and that is likely to be highly uncompetitive (the bank will determine the rate) and expensive (there will be a charge for each transfer).

 

Good luck

Cheers

Steve

[sandch]

Hi Cath

 

You need to give them the international account number. Your Aussie bank should be able to tell you this. Their comment about 8 digit accounts is rubbish, don't let them fob you off!!

 

Best of luck

 

Charlie

 

Quite right Charlie - pension administrators are not exactly at the cutting edge of technology are they?

[fiz]

To sum up what others have posted really:

 

If you want control of the transfer, so that you can choose the best forex provider (see other posts), it makes sense to accumulate the funds in sterling in a UK account until you have a critical mass (£3,000), then make the transfer at a time and rate to suit you.

 

It's been mentioned that pension providers will pay directly into an Australian bank account. However the problem I can see with this is that the receiving bank will then do the conversion and that is likely to be highly uncompetitive (the bank will determine the rate) and expensive (there will be a charge for each transfer).

 

Good luck

Cheers

Steve

 

As ever, Steve, really useful advice-thanks!

 

I had not processed the fact that the receiving bank would do a charge if you got your state pension put directly in to your Oz account.

However, when I think about it, the only time I have ever been charged by my Oz account for a transfer was at Christmas when I did a small transfer of about £200 via the Post Office who claimed it would be fee free but I then got clobbered by CBA for £15.

 

Its also useful to know that the Ukforex fee free limit is £3000-I was about to transfer £2500 so I will increase that a little...!

 

Are you still in the UK or have you returned to Melbourne?

[cathandtone]

To sum up what others have posted really:

 

If you want control of the transfer, so that you can choose the best forex provider (see other posts), it makes sense to accumulate the funds in sterling in a UK account until you have a critical mass (£3,000), then make the transfer at a time and rate to suit you.

 

It's been mentioned that pension providers will pay directly into an Australian bank account. However the problem I can see with this is that the receiving bank will then do the conversion and that is likely to be highly uncompetitive (the bank will determine the rate) and expensive (there will be a charge for each transfer).

 

Good luck

Cheers

Steve

 

Hi Steve

We have a very basic ANZ bank account and we do not pay charges at all. I hadn't realised that the Aus bank defined the rate so I just did a calculation on a pension payment received in April and the rate was $1.4938, I should go back to April to see what the top rate was then. It would be great to be able to hold the money in the UK until we reached £3000 but in practice, with no Aussie income, it's not very practical.

Best wishes

Cath

[chudleighval]

We used moneycorp for the 7 months we were there recently...it worked really well .put the money into moneycorp .phoned them...they then transfered the money ..we usually had it next morning...good rate of exchange too..

[DavidandGill]

As ever, Steve, really useful advice-thanks!

 

I had not processed the fact that the receiving bank would do a charge if you got your state pension put directly in to your Oz account.

However, when I think about it, the only time I have ever been charged by my Oz account for a transfer was at Christmas when I did a small transfer of about £200 via the Post Office who claimed it would be fee free but I then got clobbered by CBA for £15.

 

Its also useful to know that the Ukforex fee free limit is £3000-I was about to transfer £2500 so I will increase that a little...!

 

Are you still in the UK or have you returned to Melbourne?

 

 

We use HiFx and looking at their webpage (to check the facts) you can transfer as little as £250 without incurring charges (other than any that might arise from paying HiFX) - see snippets below from their website.

 

Q. What types of transactions can I undertake online? A.Only Spot (buy now, pay now) transactions can take place online. For Forward transactions (that allow you to fix the exchange rate for up to 12 months) and Regular Transfers, please call our Customer Services Team on +44(0)1753 859 159. They will discuss your requirements and explain the best options depending on your individual circumstances.

 

Q. Are there any hidden charges? A.No. We don’t charge you to send your international money transfers. No transfer charges and no commission fees.

 

This does not include the cost of you transferring the funds to HiFX and any charges incurred where the funds being sent are in a different currency to the destination bank account. As part of the service, HiFX provides one free transfer per trade.

 

Q. How much can I transfer using HiFX Online? A.

A minimum of £250 and a maximum of £70,000 per online transaction, to a limit of £75,000 each day. For larger transactions please call our Customer Service Team on +44(0)1753 859 159 (Option 3).

 

Hope this is not considered inappropriate advertising but we have used HiFx for around 4 years and have always found them to be very good - friends use them to transfer to South Africa and when they were charged by their bank in SA, HiFx refunded the charges as promised.

 

Regards Gill

[DavidandGill]

Wow David and Gill that all sounds fantastic...where i Melbourne are you heading ... My daughtsr lives i Highett and we have a cabin in Rosebud... I have followed your story and felt your pain.. My grandchild Daisy has been a very poorly little girl... i had a middle of the night phone call that she was in intensive care and they were looking at wether to donate her organs...i left our house in swindon at 4 am without a flight and was flyingout of heathrow by 8 .30 thanks to emirates..daisy was in an induced comanand a very poorly little girl...thankfully that was to years ago and this year we saw her start school... I look forward to hearing the rest of your story and hearing how your move goes. Enjoy enjoy enjoy x

 

Apologies for delay in replying - been busy packing! We are going to Torquay at the start of the Great Ocean Road, where our family are. It is terrible when you are here in the UK and get that awful phone call to tell you your grandchild is ill. We got the call on a Wednesday and by Saturday we were flying to Melbourne, we stayed a month while they stabilised Scarlett, but had only been back here for one and half weeks when our daughter phoned to say that heart transplant was "inevitable". We took about three weeks to get our affairs sorted out at this end for an indefinite stay in Australia and went back. We had been there nearly four weeks when a heart became available. She is now two and half, has a baby brother, has been the "face" of the Good Friday Appeal 2011 for the Royal Children's hospital, and is a very cheeky monkey! Apart from a string of nasty colds and viral infections just lately (it is winter after all!) she is doing extremely well and recently passed her first renal scan with flying colours. Her prognosis is very good but as with all transplantees, even a relatively minor infection has the potential to become dangerous so life for our daughter and her partner is always worrying.

 

I have heard of Rosebud but not Highett - note to self, must improve geography of new home state! Was your grandaughter treated at RCH? It is one of the leading hospitals in the world for children's medicine and we have always found the staff there to be absolutely fantastic. Scarlett spent a lot of time in Intensive Care and you never forget how helpless you feel watching them being so poorly. But even as ill as Scarlett was, there were other children who were even worse and you learn to be grateful for every small step forwards. I am so glad to hear Daisy made a full recovery.

 

Our daughter has made Scarlett a countdown chart with stickers for each day until we arrive - only 15 days to go. Off to do some more sorting out.

Best wishes Gill

[Guest]

As ever, Steve, really useful advice-thanks!

 

I had not processed the fact that the receiving bank would do a charge if you got your state pension put directly in to your Oz account.

However, when I think about it, the only time I have ever been charged by my Oz account for a transfer was at Christmas when I did a small transfer of about £200 via the Post Office who claimed it would be fee free but I then got clobbered by CBA for £15.

 

Its also useful to know that the Ukforex fee free limit is £3000-I was about to transfer £2500 so I will increase that a little...!

 

Are you still in the UK or have you returned to Melbourne?

 

If you transfer over £1000 and under £3000 UKforex will charge a flat admin fee of £7. Not much really in the overall scheme of things if you only need a bit when the exchange rate is reaaly bad.

[sandch]

We use HiFx and looking at their webpage (to check the facts) you can transfer as little as £250 without incurring charges (other than any that might arise from paying HiFX) - see snippets below from their website.

 

Q. What types of transactions can I undertake online? A.Only Spot (buy now, pay now) transactions can take place online. For Forward transactions (that allow you to fix the exchange rate for up to 12 months) and Regular Transfers, please call our Customer Services Team on +44(0)1753 859 159. They will discuss your requirements and explain the best options depending on your individual circumstances.

 

Q. Are there any hidden charges? A.No. We don’t charge you to send your international money transfers. No transfer charges and no commission fees.

 

This does not include the cost of you transferring the funds to HiFX and any charges incurred where the funds being sent are in a different currency to the destination bank account. As part of the service, HiFX provides one free transfer per trade.

 

Q. How much can I transfer using HiFX Online? A.

A minimum of £250 and a maximum of £70,000 per online transaction, to a limit of £75,000 each day. For larger transactions please call our Customer Service Team on +44(0)1753 859 159 (Option 3).

 

Hope this is not considered inappropriate advertising but we have used HiFx for around 4 years and have always found them to be very good - friends use them to transfer to South Africa and when they were charged by their bank in SA, HiFx refunded the charges as promised.

 

Regards Gill

 

Folks, remember that the "charges" are actually built into the rate you get with HiFX. The best way to see the effect of this is to start an online transaction with HiFX for £250, write down the rate, then abort the transaction. Then do the same for £3,000. There will be a distinct difference. This is because they do need to charge for the service, but the fixed amount is absorbed into the rate. For smaller amounts it has a disproportionate effect. It is a little disingenuous of HiFX to claim there are no charges, but I understand why the rates work this way and I still use them because I can obtain and commit to an immediate rate - I do avoid transferring small amounts through any provider though if I can avoid it.

 

I'd quote you an example, but the service is offline until tomorrow.

 

Cheers

 

Steve

[sandch]

As ever, Steve, really useful advice-thanks!

 

I had not processed the fact that the receiving bank would do a charge if you got your state pension put directly in to your Oz account.

However, when I think about it, the only time I have ever been charged by my Oz account for a transfer was at Christmas when I did a small transfer of about £200 via the Post Office who claimed it would be fee free but I then got clobbered by CBA for £15.

 

Its also useful to know that the Ukforex fee free limit is £3000-I was about to transfer £2500 so I will increase that a little...!

 

Are you still in the UK or have you returned to Melbourne?

 

Hi Fiz

 

Stuck in the UK for probably a couple of months while I sort out some key projects at work. Not happy, as my better half has had to return to Oz, but thank goodness for Skype at least. I can stay in touch with our other daughter for the time being, so that will help!

 

All the best

 

Steve

[fiz]

The problem I had with HiFX, who are the people who actually do the Post office exchanges, is that though the UK end was "free", in line with their advert, the Oz end wasn't. The Post office did actually refund the Oz charges for me when I queried it but it was a lot of hassle for a small amount of money.

 

(I pursued it, however, on principle!!)