Validation trip in April
 

Hiya everyone

We are validating our visas in April and are going to Brisbane for 3 weeks.
My husband and I were chatting about what needs to be done on this trip as well as just holidaying.
We thought about opening a bank account but is it really worth it unless you are actually making the permanent move? (this will not happen until at least September). Can you open one on a validation trip anyway?

I have contacted the school in the area we hope to move to eventually to see if they will let us have a look round. I thought this would be good for our kids to see what they are moving to.

Can anyone suggest other things we should be possibly arranging on our trip?

Thanks
Jo
:D :D

Re: Validation trip in April
 

We opened a bank account in OZ 2 years and glad we did, you have to pay to keep it open every month but its worth it as you have OZ ID etc.

Re: Validation trip in April
 

We have just come back from validating and we visited school, opened a bank account, viewed lots of house's and visited some hospitals where i could potentially work.

Do as much as you can.........:)

Re: Validation trip in April
 

I would advise opening a bank account, as it makes things easier when you want to transfer funds through companies like HIFX. I certainly found it useful, having opened an account on our validation trip last year.

Someone else on here will probably know better than I but I believe it's worth checking out what sort of ID the banks will accept when opening the account. I understand they can be quite strict about this.

Enjoy your trip!

CMR

Re: Validation trip in April
 

Just your passport is all they need :)

Re: Validation trip in April
 

If you have a recent entry stamp on your passport that is all the points you need to open an acount.

Re: Validation trip in April
 

When we spoke to westpac last year - they said so long as you open your account within 1 or 2 weeks (can't remember which) you can open an account with just your passport
Niz:)

Re: Validation trip in April
 

Thanks for all your help.

Can I ask another silly question? Am I right in thinking that you only need your passports containing PR stickers and flight tickets when you check-in. There is no other paperwork we need to take such as the visa approval letter from DIMIA (or whoever they are now) or anything else? :confused:

Jo

Re: Validation trip in April
 

Correct. Passports must of course be valid.

If you are planning to stop over in the Far East make sure your passports have at least 6 months remaining.