Fuzzyness

i currently have a few thousand pounds of outstanding student debt that i would prefer not to take with me if i were to move to australia due to the poor exchange rate and the supposed higher cost of living ratio to wages.

other than becoming a hermit for the next year or so and getting another part time job on top of the current full time and part time job i already have can anyone offer any wise words on how they coped with ridding themselves of uk debt. is it necessary to be completely rid or did you arrive at an agreement with your bank.

my debt is in the form of student loans and a graduate loan. does existing debt get taken into account in your visa application.

Richard_Gregan

Debt does not get taken into account when applying for any of the skilled forms of migration - 136 and its variants.

Most people I have dealt with opt to pay the loan off as and when they can -but funding a pounds sterling debt with an OZ $ income can be very wearing if the exchange rate plays up.

bondipom

Not with partner visas.

I am deferring my student loan and have a years worth of repayments in the UK. I will have to start saving as I want to get rid of it. It is like a niggly annoyance in the background that could turn into nasty repayments here. Then add in monthly transfer fees and the loan value shoots up.

Fuzzyness

that is what i was thinking. i could probably cope with the student loan still being there but the thought of turning up in oz knowing that for every three dollars you earn its only going to pay one pound off. grrrrr. i think the ability to be clear of some of my debt will influence when i apply.

i think that now i am begining to convince myself that i want to apply for a visa it will be easier to focus my mind on not spending money so freely and to start reeling in some of those debts that i let get out of control whilst i was studying.

dazzac

Just do a bunk - they can't trace you.

Fuzzyness

what if i ever want to return. my credit rating would be ****ed.

dazzac

It'll be an incentive to make it work in OZ.

Fuzzyness

that is true but what worries me is touching down and immediatley having to start trying to settle myself in where i expect the start up costs of doing so to not be inconsiderable whilst also having to pay money back. idealy i would like to be free of it before i went but have people gone there with debt and survived.

dazzac

Sorry I have no knowledge of people going out with debts.
On the whole you are right, its got to be a bad idea. Not just because of the exchange rates but because of the added stress in an already stressful situation i.e. relocation.
Surely you have no time limits?
Also depends on the amount you owe. Can't you take temp work for six months as way of paying it off then go?

Fuzzyness

no time limits as such more a desire to go sooner rather than later.

i already work full time so taking temp work isnt an option. i suppose what it would entail is a concerted effort over the next year to try and clear the majority of simpler debts such as overdraft and credit card to leave room to clear the other tricker ones after that.

personally i dont like the idea of relocating leaving debt behind and i dont think that i would be happy letting myself do it. maybe i should go and buy a lottery ticket hey?

dazzac

Leaving debt behind is Ok if your a single women as you can get married and re-enter the UK under that name, which is handy.

Other than that go for the concentrated effort, and cut your costs.
If your a town planner?? is this not well paid? if not you could jack and take something to bring more money in, somewhere you can rack up the overtime.

Where theres a will theres a way!!

Fuzzyness

i am due for a salary rise early next year so depending on how much this is it could help. i already have a part time bar job which doesnt bring much in but it does help a bit. i suppose i am goign to have to cut costs and expenditure. it will be worth it i know but it will mean a significant change in lifestyle. i suppose that wont be as big as what i am aiming for though so better get used to it now.

cheers for the suggestions dazzac.

MrsDagboy

Get rid of the debt, get rid of the debt, get rid of the debt!

Not sure how many more times I should say it .

Seriously, for the reasons that you & BP have already said, get rid of it. If you are struggling to pay it off now earning pounds, imagine what its going to be like earning dollars when its going to be reduced at a third of the rate . And as BP says, for every time you transfer money you will pay which will make the end value higher.

I'd say it again, but Im hoping you got my suggestion .

Fuzzyness

received loud and clear.

DagBoy

Yes - but it was not fun - that is why Mrs D is pretty clear in here advice.

I came out here with an unsold house in the UK. It was on the market and not rented - costing about 1300 GBP a month to service mortgage, loan, endowments and insurance etc.
That was about $3500 a month I had to find.
We suffered that for 18 months - the only things that stopped us having a complete nightmare were:

I had a reasonable well paid job here
Mrs DagBoy had a pretty low mortgage repayment
I had about 7,000 GBP savings (in a tessa) that I cashed in and ate up
I had a 10,000 GBP loan from my UK bank
I managed to get a 6 month mortgage holiday.

So - at the end we had lost a heap of savings and been stuck in limbo unable to buy a house here for almost 2 years.

Oh well - C'est la vie