General Chat

Thank you all for your replies - I'm so frustrated with this country we get taxed so highly - me and OH have good incomes - we have had an extension on the house which has cost a fortune but it is cheaper than moving - our mortgage is no more than £150k but we are really struggling with the cost of living - we don't go out - yeah I like my vino and fags but thats it!!! we go on hols approximately every 4 years or so - we just seem to be working to keep a roof over our heads!!!
I'm becoming even more tempted by the minute!!
max x

There are no concessions if you have any family or children in Australia.
Regional Australia/low population growth residential areas:
Applicants applying for Investor Retirement visa (subclass 405 - Temporary) may wish to consider living in regional Australia or a low population growth metropolitan area when nominating your intended residence as these attract a lower level of annual income, designated investment and settlement funds required from applicants. Living in regional Australia or low population growth metropolitan area means that Investor Retirement visa holders can live anywhere in Australia except in Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, the NSW Central Coast, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Perth, Melbourne or the ACT.



I got the above from www.skillclear.co.uk/australia, just googled retiring migrants to australia.

the site has lots of info for anyone wanting to go, regardless of age, I just c and p'd the retirement bit.
Lizx

Retirement to Australia
The Australia temporary residence program includes a category for those wanting to live in Australia in retirement.

A Retirement Visa allows retirees to spend some of their retirement years in Australia.

You may apply for an investor Retirement Visa if you meet the following criteria:
are 55 years of age or older
are sponsored by an Australian State or Territory Government agency
have no dependent children or other dependent family members other than a spouse
are married or in a de facto relationship, your partner has no dependent children or other dependent family members
have a minimum assets legally owned and lawfully acquired by yourself, or yourself and your spouse, capable of and available to transfer to Australia of:
A$500,000 if you have indicated to your sponsoring state or territory government agency that you intend to live in a regional/low growth area of Australia; OR
A$750,000 if you have indicated to your sponsoring state or territory government agency that you do not intend to live in a regional/low growth area of Australia
have a minimum net income stream (for example, pension rights) that can be accessed for yourself or yourself and your spouse of:
A$50,000 annually if you have indicated to your sponsoring state or territory government agency that you intend to live in regional/low growth area of Australia
A$65,000 annually if you have indicated to your sponsoring state or territory government agency that you do not intend to live in a regional/low growth area of Australia
are able to make a minimum designated investment of:
A$500,000 in your name or your name and your spouse name if you have indicated to your sponsoring state or territory government agency that you intend to live in regional/low growth area of Australia
A$750,000 in your name or your name and your spouse name if you have indicated to your sponsoring state or territory government agency that you do not intend to live in regional/low growth area of Australia
you must have held all of the assists listed above for 2 years prior to lodging your application, unless the assists are related to superannuation and/or inheritance
have evidence that you, and your spouse if applicable, hold a private health insurance package that meets Australian Department of Health and Ageing (DHA) guidelines during the period of the intended stay in Australia
have no intention of working full-time in Australia (you, and your spouse if applicable, will only be allowed to work up to 20 hours per week while in Australia)
are of good health and character
IMPORTANT:
Assets should not be sold until you are advised to do so by your immigration case officer. You will only be asked to sell assets once the Department of Immigration are confident that you meet all requirements to be granted a visa under this category.
What is a designated investment?
Designated investments are offered by State and Territory Treasury Corporations as:
Primary-issue government securities with a maturity of no less than 4 years from the date of purchase
limited to investments of a minimum listed above for the Investor Retirement visa with interest paid every 6 months
non-transferable and non-redeemable (that is, the security cannot be sold to another investor or sold back to the issuing authority before maturity)
Repayment of the principle on maturity is guaranteed by the State or Territory government.

The Investor Retirement visa is a complex application involving a lot of paper submissions with detailed explanations of how the assets involved were acquired.

The Investor Retirement visa is also a three stage visa. Skillclear can guide you through all three stages of this particular visa and provide those crucial contact details for information on buying property in Australia, taxation obligations and information on visa extensions.

If your application is approved, you will be given a visa that will allow multiple travel in and out of Australia initially for 4 years. Before your visa expires, you may apply to remain for further stay of 4 years, however, you will need to satisfy particular criteria for this further visa. There is no maximum period for which you can remain in Australia as the holder of consecutive Investor Retirement visas.

Investor retirement visa holders are subject to the 8104 'limited work rights' condition and will be valid until the expiry of your current visa allowing you to work for up to 20 hours per week.

Anyone know the answer to how retired folk get into Oz?

Maixchall, it is a better way of life, but we are retired!!

Although some do work out here, there is the language barrier and also Madeira will always give a job to a Madeiran rather than a foreigner, even though it is in contravention of EU laws. Before you say well that is only fair, think of how many Madeirans are working in other countries in the world, lots in UK especially The Channel Islands.

Food is cheaper here, and there is not much that you can't get that you have to bring out from the UK. Skype makes it easy to talk to family and friends. The weather is so much more pleasant. At the moment it is a very chilly 13 deg which is unusually cold, normal would be about 16 upwards. Hottest normally is 26deg, but can go higher and the sun is very strong. Our electric bills are around 55€/month we are only on our second bottle of gas at around 20€/16kg bottle and our water bill is somewhere in the region of 4€/month and our irrigation water costs around €3/year. We don't know what our council tax will be yet, and won't have to pay for another couple of years, but likely to be around 250€/year. We don't have a bin collection to the house where we are, there are communal bins around that we use, and we recycle a lot with the bins that are provided.

It's not perfect, I don't suppose anywhere is, but a far more relaxed way of life.

I wouldn't go back, although have to occasionally at the moment, but only a 3 and half hour flight.

Emotional blackmail was used to stop me going to NZ, nothing was going to stop me moving this time.

I have known several people go to Aus and then return to the UK, you have to give it time, and I think having a family helps to get you settled in, but not always.

Rosalind

We are in the process of emigrating to Perth Australia and are just waiting for our visas. Can't wait.

It's a very difficult decision to make, we are doing it for a better life for our children as we too are very disheartened with the UK.

I will be leaving my parents here, but luckily they love Australia and will be visiting us regularly.

There is an age limit of 45 if you are applying for a General Skilled Migration Visa, but you can get sponsored by a company if your occupation is in demand. You can apply for a temporary sponsored visa from which you can apply for permanent residency once there.

Jo xx

I was surprised to see Tony from Oz saying 'if you're retired.... go for it'. In my niaivety I thought there was a restriction on getting into Oz relating to age and qualifications. That being the case, how on earth can you get accepted if you are retired? Would you perhaps have to prove that you had enough to buy a house and then enough to live on?

Dear all thank you so much for your stories they have been really helpful, I have 3 lots of family in Australia, plus 1 friend and her family (they all love it), and just found through GR family in NZ and Canada all were born in UK and would never move back!!
Got a lot of thinking to do
Thanks again
Max

A friend moved to NZ a few years ago - didn't like it moved to Perth - still didn't like it so moved back here.

Once back here they moved into a rented house - now have to move out as the owners of the house moved to Australia - didn't like it & now want to move back!

My Dad's cousin's moved there as ten pound Poms - they love it - they are both 80 this year.

Dad and Mum emigrated from Scotland to Australia in the early 60s. I then emigrated from Australia to Canada in the early 80s.

The hardest part of the homesickness was missing my large family but as with anything, you gradually get used to it. And the fact that phone calls were about $1 per minute so I had to pick and choose when I called. Now I can use a phone card for 1cent per minute so can call anytime I need/want to.

My Gran mentioned a few years ago (before children) about us moving there - my husband is Canadian - and I must admit I went into panic mode. But soon realised it was because I had become accustomed to the "big city lifestyle" and didn't want to move back to the small town I grew up in. Once I realised I didn't have to go back there, maybe Brisbane instead, I was OK with the idea. But then the children came along and that seemed to cement my life here.

Tony - wish I had the weather option here in Canada. I have never liked excessive cold (and with hypothyroid you feel it more) and yet chose to move here....ahhhhh - that's what love does to you!!!

Yeah
I'm thinking of emigrating to England.
It would be a lot easier to do my family tree!

xxx mick

Well put Sal...:>))

The thing about moving to Aussie, is to choose wisely where you wish to live.
I was born here as were my parents, so its easy for me to say Yes, Aussie is a great place to live.
Australia has its goods and its bads, just like any other country. Where you chose to live in Australia is the main factor, and many make the wrong move, by moving straight here without holidaying in Aussie first. Many peeps come here from living all their lives in very cold climates, and they holiday occassionally in warm/hot country's so feel they can live in States like Queensland or further north ( Tropical ). After a year they get a shock to the system and wish they never had chosen this. They become disheartened and sorry they ever moved. If you like the snow ( occassionaly ) and some heat ( Warm to Hot in Summer but cool to cold and occasional snow in Winter ) then move to the Southern States...... Tasmania, Victoria, Canberra, Lower regions of N.S.W. If you prefer Warm to Hot with only slightly cool then anywhere north of Sydney up to Brisbane, then up to Cairns ( Sub Tropical to Tropical ) or a bit of both Cool and Hot......South Australia ( Adelaide or W.A Perth ) Anywhere north of Brisbane and its opposite Perth, you need to have a great love for Tropics and humidity. The good thing about living here from someone who was born here, is you have a choice of climates, and if you like the cooler states you can still holiday in the Tropics without leaving the country. All this is pending on the work factor too. If your retired...then go for it. There's heaps of room in Oz......:>)))

Best wishes. Tony....:>))

We came over for a holiday.....then put in to come over when home - only took 6 months from start to finish then!

We were accepted and I was going for my medical (x-rays etc) and realised i felt quite sick....was pregnant, so told Australia house and they asked whether i wanted to have baby over there or over here. I decided on having him over there as didnt know what to expect over here (wish I had chosen here now!) anyway....we eventually came when he was 3 months old and I also had an 8 year old....no jobs as hubby was going to set up self employed.

Flaming hard and not the best time to come with new baby but it worked out for us, and over here if you work hard you get rewarded, we found over in UK we worked hard and didn't really get anywhere.

We now have jobs we both enjoy, a lovely home, with easy access to City, beaches and right next to bush so lovely and quiet. Joe misses ever seeing the snow he says, but there are even snowfields down in Canberra which we will take him to in next few years.

You do miss the history of where you are from, and everything is different of course, but you MUST take on board the new country and not harp on about what you are missing and compare....that is where people go wrong, as when they do that they miss out on both.

Sal xx

My 2 nieces and a nephew and their families have gone in the last 18 months niece and nephew gone to Australia and other niece to New Zealand. Would love to have done the same when younger but emotional blackmail stopped me, or maybe that was a good excuse I used.

Very disheartened with this country at present though.

Rosalind what's it like there - is it a better way of life? x

Already have, but not the same as going to Aus or NZ as it it part of the EU.

Wish I had gone to NZ when I had the chance.

You can't turn the clocks back and it is your life to do what you want.

Rosalind

Sal did you have your kids over there or here, if here how did they adjust?
I know what you mean about being miserable especially with jobs I've been married 12 years and we are no better off than when we first got married, I have just gone back to work even though I would love to stay at home with my 2yr old but the money is needed even though after nurseries fees, tax etc I'm only getting £3 per hour take home for a very stressful job working with EBD children - so frustrating!!! x

We definately have a better lifestyle and so do the kids.....more to do as it is more of an outside lifestyle.

I came back 5 years ago and found it very expensive, and sorry to say quite gloomy as people were fed up with their jobs and quite miserable.

Yes, very glad that we came, although, as I said it is not easy......it takes a good couple of years to settle for some.

Sal x

Pat have you been over for a holiday? x

Sal do you have a better way of life or is that a myth!! It must be so good to have a lot of your family with you, are they all glad they made the move? x