Can a UK bankrupt get a visa for Australia?
 

I'm interested in emigrating to Australia and am considering going bankrupt in the UK. (I've got two debtors who owe me a substantial amount of money and it doesn't look like it's going to come through any time soon). :(

Can anyone help with the following questions?

1) Does being declared bankrupt in Britain have an affect on the application process?

2) Would it be possible to move to Australia before the bankruptcy is discharged? Or would I need to wait until my debts were reorganised/paid off? (I would be discharged after a year in the UK).

3) Would there be a ‘minimum funds requirement’, i.e., a set amount of money that I would need to bring with me?

4) Does anyone know a good immigration consultant (either in the UK or Australia) where I can get answers to these questions free of charge?

Incidentally, I would probably apply for a Skilled Visa but could also be sponsored by my (defacto) partner.

Thanks in advance for any help. It's appreciated :)

Re: Can a UK bankrupt get a visa for Australia?
 

Hi, welcome to the forum.

Probably depends on your visa, but I doubt it would exclude you.

Not sure!

If you need extra points you can put fwd a bond.

George Lombard and Allan Collett are both highly recommended on here. www.austimmigration.com.au and www.gomatilda.com for details.

Pressumably your partner is Australian or has Aussie PR/citizenship? A de facto visa, providing you have the relevant information is usually the quickest/easiest way to go. The minimum you require for this is 12 months evidence of your r'ship.

Re: Can a UK bankrupt get a visa for Australia?
 

Hi, thanks so much, I didn't expect to get such a quick reply. Wow! What a great forum! :)

Yes, my partner is Australian and, hopefully, we shouldn't have too much of a problem coming up with evidence of our relationship.

I'll contact the recommended websites/consultants and take it from there.

In the meantime, if anyone else can answer question 2) or has anything else to add, it would be great to hear from you!

Thanks again!

Re: Can a UK bankrupt get a visa for Australia?
 

If you're thinking going the de facto route, have a look at Booklet One for details. Also forms 47SP & 40SP are needed to be filled out, I don't remember anything there about being bankrupt.

Re: Can a UK bankrupt get a visa for Australia?
 

Thanks, I will. This is all new to me so I'm grateful for all the information I can get right now.

BTW, I love your signature "Thanks to all who give me Karma." I couldn't agree with you more! ;)

Re: Can a UK bankrupt get a visa for Australia?
 

You will get some answers to your questions 1 and 2 at www.debtquestions.co.uk there are heaps of people in a similar situation.

Bankruptcy shouldn't affect your application as it is not a criminal act, unless criminal charges are made against you. But worth checking out with an agent who will have far more experience.

Re: Can a UK bankrupt get a visa for Australia?
 

Thanks for the website. I haven't come across that one before so will be sure to check it out.

I've just contacted an agent so I'll wait to see what response I get.

Thanks again for your help.

Re: Can a UK bankrupt get a visa for Australia?
 

Just wanted to say thanks again for the link to the Debt Questions site. Although bankruptcy will be more complicated for me as I have a Limited company, I found some extremely useful information as well as more links to other sites and forms I might need.

So thanks for that. I'd highly recommend the site to anyone needing some help with any kind of debt.

Cheers!

Re: Can a UK bankrupt get a visa for Australia?
 

My hubby was a bankrupt (although now discharged) but it does not affect the visa application on a skilled basis.

However, think carefully before you go down this route as no one tells you how bad it gets. Our credit rating is non existent until min of 5 years after discharge, can't get mortgage etc. They took half the equity in the house and, despite this being three times what hubby owed, we didn't get a refund as they added on over £10,000 in charges for their time and there's no way around this as the solicitor holds the money back from the sale. If we'd known then what we know now, we'd have found another way whatever it was.

Re: Can a UK bankrupt get a visa for Australia?
 

That's good to hear. Thanks! Out of interest, did you have to mention it at all on the application?

Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm sorry to hear it wasn't the best route for you.

Presumably you're talking about your credit rating here in the UK? My understanding is that, if I were to emigrate to Australia, the credit rating would not go with me.

From the advice I've received so far, bankruptcy does seem to be the best option for me. But I do take your point that bankruptcy's not for everyone and I do want to speak to Business Debtline before I make a final decision. My situation is that I've been trying to get two debtors to pay up for way too long now. One's a local authority and it's now over 2 1/2 years; the other was 9 months ago. I'm not prepared to continue with the level of debt I have and, as I'm sure you'll understand, I have no real quality of life. Uppermost in your mind most of the time is your financial situation and all you end up doing is working harder and harder to pay off the debts. With cash flow problems and some "lean times" it means it's also affected my personal situation too. My feeling at the moment is that I really do just want to start afresh...

Also, given that I have no assets – in the business or personally – it may be "easier" for me. An insolvency practitioner has suggested to me that I write to all my creditors letting them know the company is insolvent, that I have no assets and stating that if they do not object I am proposing to take my company of the register. So, unless they do object and agree to pay for the liquidation, the company may just be struck off and that will be that.

The personal bankruptcy, I believe, will be a separate thing. Until I speak to Business Debtline, I don't know what, if any, other avenues might be available to me in my situation.

I just thought that as I was considering migration to Australia it would be worth me checking out my options BEFORE deciding to go bankrupt. If I went the bankruptcy route and it had then affected it, I would not be a happy bunny!

Anyway, thanks again for your helpful insight.

Re: Can a UK bankrupt get a visa for Australia?
 

Right idea to get as much advice as possible about any implications. If we'd been told that we'd lose half our equity regards of amount we wouldn't have gone that route.

Part of the reason for us to go to Oz is to leave the credit rating (and stigma - hubby found it very tough emotionally) behind and start afresh. We haven't done the visa app yet but our agent says it's not relevant. It does have to be mentioned though in the TRA assessment but, as we're not going on the business visa, it won't make a difference.

Re: Can a UK bankrupt get a visa for Australia?
 

Re the equity, I would feel the same in your position.

It sounds as though you're saying that bankruptcy 'could' make a difference to a business visa. If so, one of the partner visas will have to be the way to go.

Good luck with your application! May your new life bring you and your hubby much joy and happiness :)

Re: Can a UK bankrupt get a visa for Australia?
 

Sorry to hear that you are having problems and hope you find the best solution soon.
I would just like to add my thoughts about which type of visa that you could apply for. If indeed you have evidence of a 12 month relationship I would highly recommend going for a prospective spouse visa. The forms are pretty easy so would save money on agents and also the turn around for these visas seem to be a lot quicker. The turn around for my spouse visa last year was under 1 month. Also with this visa the only question relating to finance was "do you have any debt outstanding to the goverment" which I would take to mean TAX or VAT.

Good Luck!! :)

Re: Can a UK bankrupt get a visa for Australia?
 

Thanks for your kind wishes. I've had to make a lot of difficult decisions but am now seeing closing my business as a fresh start and a new opportunity, especially as Australia beckons!
Thanks. That's very helpful to know we can do it ourselves and what the likely turnaround is. I'm going out there in about a month's time now though so will probably go on a different visa this time, then apply for the spouse visa when I get back to the UK. (Got to come back for a while, unfortunately, as I will have some loose ends to tie up with the business).
I'm not sure how I would need to answer that one so may have to take advice. If they are asking if I PERSONALLY owe any tax/VAT then the answer is NO as I have a Limited company. As a Director of that company I do owe tax and VAT but I don't think I'm personally liable. If I was to answer that question with YES, do you know if they would then want more details?

Good luck with selling your property and your move to Brisbane! :)

Re: Can a UK bankrupt get a visa for Australia?
 

If you have evidence of a 12 month relationship you can go as de facto. For Prospective Spouse you only need evidence that you have met, and intend to marry.

Re: Can a UK bankrupt get a visa for Australia?
 

I'd suggest you need some professional advice in the UK as to what impact moving to Australia will have on your bankruptcy. Also some advice in Australia on what impact a UK bankruptcy will have in terms of what you can do in Australia (you may need to declare it in some circumstances)

Being bankrupt is not normally a bar to being granted an Australian visa, other than a business skilled one. However DIMIA will be interested to know how you intend to support yourself in Australia and may ask for a discretionary assurance of support as a result (or in extreme cases even refuse your application).

Skilled visa or spouse - there are pros and cons to each route (assuming you qualify for both), but you'd need some professional advice to work this out in detail. Hardly any reputable immigration consultant will give this kind of detailed advice out for free.

Jeremy