we have 5 weeks till we spend 3 weeks in perth , we are validating our visas as our business hasnt sold yet
apart from our passports , money accommodation car hire flights
anything else i should do ,
could do with some advice about whether we should open a bank account if so what do we need to take for id, apart from passport
any advice greatly received

I think a passport is all you need for a bank account if you open one with in first 6 weeks of your arrival in Australia.

I think to open a bank account when you are here, you need an Australian address. Dont take my word for it, I might be wrong.

Do you have any jobs sorted or will you be looking to get some sort of employment or are you going to be self-employed once you make your move permanent?
Depending what sort of jobs you will be doing, it might worth looking into the possibilities whilst you are here.

Yes, you need to provide an address in Aus however, if you open through the branches in London when still in the UK they are happy to accept your UK address to get things done.

hi sean

hope you enjoy your trip, we went out in may to validate the visa, felt like such a waste but was loely to see the place. we are going out on a business visa to western australia, but like you we hadn't sold the business, we've now sold the business just not the house so still a bit of a wait. Waht's your business? are you going on a business visa and what do you plan to do over there? When we went we visited albany lovely place to settle maybe a little to far from perth for you. I'd say just go and try and look at it like yo would be living there, we were really shocked at the cost of living over there, very expensive. Keep us updated. have a good time

jane

You just need a Passport and proof of your Status in Oz. I did it a few weeks ago on our validation trip. This was for Westpac.

Make sure you check with your Bank of their requirements-they may vary.

Silly question i know but what is a validation trip

to jane
we have a nursing home to sell but the market is poor at present so i think we will be here for a few more years yet
i will be going back to nursing when we move dont ever want to own another business in my life.
as for other question , when you have your visa granted you have to a year to get your visa stamped by just setting foot in oz, most normal people validate when they move over i guess as long as its within the first year of being granted
sean

I had to give my bank an australian tax number too - stops them over taxing you on any interest (not that it's worth sending any money over at these rates!)

Means you can pay flat offshore rate of 10% tax if they have your tax number though.