Marisawright

It's odd really. If you've been away from the UK for a long time and have no credit rating, it's ridiculously difficult to do things like renting a flat, or getting a car loan - but mortgages seem to operate under a totally different system and you can get one very quickly.

You can buy a property to live in, but you'll have to apply to the FIRB for permission and the fee is a few thousand dollars. Then you will pay extra stamp duty on the purchase. For example, say you buy a place for $350,000. A permanent resident would pay about $4,000 in stamp duty. You'll pay about $28,000.

Is your occupation on the list for the 190 visa? If so, how many points can you get?

In that case, the best solution is to bring her back to your country. You will be waiting several YEARS to have your visa granted

It's not like the UK (where bank statements mean nothing if you haven't got a credit score). They may well be satisfied with a bank statement, but if not, you can offer to pay six months rent upfront and that will do the trick.

Sounds pretty short-sighted to me. I hope he's got a fully-paid off house that's worth a fortune, which he can sell when he's struggling to survive on the pension in his old age.

Do you mean you're hoping to find a rental before you arrive? Don't! It's a recipe for disaster. Photos on realestate.com.au and domain.com.au are shamelessly doctored to make properties look larger and in better condition than they really are. If you sign a six-month agreement without a personal inspection, you risk being stuck in an absolute dump. Instead, book a holiday flat for 4 weeks to give you time to find a place.

I hear people saying this all the time and I'm perplexed. I'm old enough to remember a time before Britain was in the EU and surprise, surprise, lots of British people settled in Europe then, too. As an Australian, my husband could go and settle in some European countries more easily than he could in the UK. So why is everyone assuming the EU will slam the doors closed? It's much more likely that Brits will be subject to the same entry rules as every other non-EU nation. Look them up - they're not insurmountable. And by the way, there are several European countries where you can claim the Australian pension because there's a social security agreement.

To be honest, I don't think Centrelink keeps any kind of record. In the UK they can, because they just look at when you made NI contributions. There's no equivalent here, so I suspect the onus would be on you, when you come to claim, to prove that you've been resident for the required length of time - unless they're able to check passport records? One problem is that if you do return for another five years and then decide you'd rather go back to the UK, your ten year residency will count for nothing - you can't claim the Australian pension while living in the UK

If you can fulfil the 10 year requirement and you're resident in Australia, you're entitled to the full pension, it's not pro rata. It sounds like you're aware that it's means-tested, which means how much you get depends on how much you have in assets and income. Your family home is exempt but private pension/superannuation balances are not. You can work out how much you'd get with this calculator: http://yourpension.com.au/APCalc/index.html If you want to live overseas, then the pension is pro rata. There is a social security agreement with New Zealand so I think you'd be able to get your pension there (there isn't one with the UK which is why you can't claim your Australian pension there). You'd need to check how the NZ agreement works to understand how much you'd get.

That's why we live in Melbourne.

Your big hurdle is that you can't get a 482 unless you can find an employer to sponsor you. What do you think the chances are of an employer offering you a job when you're overseas? I'd say your best option is to go for the WHV. That will give you a year in Melbourne to make contacts in the industry. Even better - if you're young enough to delay the WHV for a year or two, look for a job as a Sales Manager in the UK, do that for a couple of years, then go on your WHV. That way you'll be ready to accept any job offers that come your way while you're on the WHV.

The more evidence you have to prove a solid long-standing relationship, the better. It doesn't matter if your wife is working or not.

I think you're right to be hesitant. I'm originally British and my husband is Australian. When his Mum died a few years ago, we had no family left in Australia and thought we'd move to the UK with a view to retiring closer to my family. I didn't settle at all and we ended up coming back to Australia. I miss two things about the UK. One is the proximity to Europe - it doesn't worry me too much, but I know my husband really misses that and there's really no solution, so you have to decide how much that matters to you. The other is the fresh, green feeling of the countryside and the change of seasons - and as you've probably noticed, large tracts of Australia are on fire right now. I've been here 30 years and have noticed the weather getting much hotter in recent years - Sydney now feels more like Brisbane in the hottest months of the year. We have considered moving to Tasmania because of that, but we're both so accustomed to living in huge cities (Melbourne and Sydney) with all the plethora of choice that offers, and I'm not sure we would cope in a smaller place. For me, neither of those things were important enough - for a host of other reasons, the Australian lifestyle day-to-day suits me much better. I'd say you need to look at your lifestyle and work out where it fits better. You also need to consider things like pensions and superannuation. If you leave moving till too close to retirement, you may have trouble qualifying for pensions etc. On the flip side, Australia is quite an ageist place, so if you don't move till your mid-fifties or later, you may struggle to get a job.

Contact a good migration agent first. The reputable ones will give you a free initial consultation which will give you all the basics

I don’t think that’s true, you’ll have to do the time s an assistant as well

I would add that it's not as simple as finding a UK accountant to do your UK tax return and then finding an Australian one to do the Aussie one. Everything's interconnected, so you need someone who understands both tax systems (like Alan above). Otherwise you could end up paying more tax than you should.

Why Duncraig? You've got a fair bit of work to do before you're ready to emigrate. First you need to find out whether you can get enough points to even apply. You need at least 65 points to apply, but that doesn't mean you'll get a visa, because it's a competition - the people with the highest points get picked, and everyone else loses out. As an electrician, you'll have to do a skills assessment to satisfy Immigration, but that's only for Immigration - it means nothing once you get to Australia. You'll have to do some extra qualifications and then work for at least six months as a trades assistant (at apprentice pay) before you'll be allowed to work as a qualified electrician. So if you have family to support, you need to have enough savings to tide you through that. How old are you?

Never heard of them. Westly Russell and Paul Hand, who have both replied above, are both highly reputable agents and you would be safer to deal with one of them.

Yes

To get your partner visa approved, you will need to provide proof of a long-standing relationship and I don't know how you can do that without admitting you have been living as a de facto couple, so that is a big problem. I think you need to hire a good agent.

On top of that, you will also pay up to three times the usual amount of stamp duty on the house purchase. The actual amount varies from state to state. https://reiwa.com.au/advice/calculator-tools/stamp-duty-calculator-wa/ You'll see from that example that an Australian would pay about $10,000 in stamp duty on a $350,000 property, whereas a foreign investor would pay over $30,000

I imagine she's suggesting that because of the long waiting times for the 864 visa. I'm not sure what the current estimate is for people who applied in 2018 but it's probably six or seven years. However, as you say, if you go for the 804 visa, you will never get PR, let alone citizenship (assuming you're already in your sixties). You'll be in limbo, perhaps for the rest of your life - you won't be a legal resident of Australia, but you won't be a legal resident of the UK, either. Assuming you're from the UK, you'll have reciprocal Medicare cover but it's not comprehensive - and as you're no longer resident in the UK, you won't be able to go home and get treatment under the NHS, either. You won't be entitled to any benefits or support services in your old age in either country, either. If you want to buy a home, you'll have to apply for special permission from FIRB (and pay a fee), then pay up to triple the amount of stamp duty on the property, depending which state you live in. Everyone has to make their own decision but in your shoes, if you can afford the Contributory Visa, I'd hang in there. Although it's a long wait, once you get PR, you will be legally resident and that will put you in a much more secure position.

I doubt it, and be very sure to triple check any advice you do get, especially from Immigration. I know someone who wanted to delay their WHV. He rang the helpline for advice and was told he would have to cancel his existing WHV and apply with the new dates. However when he did reapply, he discovered he'd been given the wrong advice - you only get one WHV and if you cancel it, you can't get another one. So he missed out.

So what's the plan now?