K and M

Very straightforward, I asked NatWest Uk to organise it, they came up with the Jersey contacts etc, I had to go through the ID rigmarole again of utility bills, passport etc, I did this without travelling to Jersey, I currently run both accounts but will close down the UK on on departure.

DaveandLinda

Thanks, sounds worth looking into.

fiz

When you opened the Jersey one, did you have to arrange for your salary or pension to be paid into it as a condition of opening it? That seems to be the position for the Co-operative Bank in Guernsey. I am not keen on changing everything over just for a few months so am unsure as to timing.....I plan to leave for Oz in September

K and M

Hi Fiz,
I just transfered a reasonable lump sump into it, I told them my full intentions as to why I wanted a Jersey account and that the account will be funded by pension and share dividends in the future and in turn the money will probably be exchanged into Aussie dollars via Moneycorp of OZforex, I did say that It would be unlikely that I would use them for forex transferd due to cost.

Be aware that the interest on these accounts is terrible so you would not want to keep in there to long!!

fiz

Really helpful-thank you. I will email the Co-op Bank and see if I can do something similar.

happyscot

Thanks for the info folks.

JohnDeeHart

At the risk of opening up what seems to be a closed topic, what's wrong with what I'm planning to do please?
Recently I transferred a fairly large amount into my Australian account using The FX Firm.
I had to transfer money into their English bank account and they then transferred it to Australia the following day. No charge and a good exchange rate.
I'm thinking of doing something similar with my pension and other regular income sources once we move to Oz. i.e. asking that the money is paid directly into this UK account.
Doesn't this avoid the extra days while the money is in transit between banks?
Am I missing something? Where is my thinking flawed?
John

fiz

I'm not sure whether my situation is the same? My pension authority would pay my pension, gross with authority from HMRC, straight into my Australian bank account. However it would be done on the same day every month so I would have no control over the exchange rate. I don't think they will pay it gross, in sterling, into a UK account, so I am exploring the possibility of using an offshore sterling account so that I have some control on when I exchange. I might have got all of this completely wrong and would welcome any advice that others could offer.

Fiz
(I too have transferred reasonably large funds via Ukforex and Moneycorp into my Oz account and it was impressively painless)

K and M

I was told that the account that the payment(s) was to made payable to had to be in my name and with my paranoia on IHT on worldwide assets on death I have opted for a Jersey account (Offshore) as part of my process of becoming Non Domiciled UK rather than Non Resident UK, I am surrendering all my UK links on leaving UK.

Remember that if you are Ex Pat or non resident UK on death the HMRC can still look for IHT on amounts above £325,000, (£650,000 on Joint) on your world wide assets, this does include assets in Australia. Whether they actually chase you in Australia I am not sure, but if you draw a UK pension your family will have to inform them on your death to stop pension payments.

I do not want to give anymore funds to HMRC, I strongly believe that on my death my daughter should get whats left, that is assuming I do not spend it all having a good time in Australia.

pemajoka

I strongly believe that on my death my daughter should get whats left,

One of the benefits of drawdown in the Australian pension system. I would suggest a lot of research online concerning these matters, most of the answers are there

happyscot

Thanks very much for the info

Sue Stockport

Hi all - sorry another question......

My parents lodged their visa offshore but are thinking of having their medicals done when they come here to Australia in October. That will fall just before they get assigned a CO which should hopefully be in January/February 2012.

Any reason why they can't have medical done here in Australia as opposed to in the UK? I'm thinking there isn't so long as we use a panel doctor but any advice appreciated.

Also, thanks for all the posts on here - it's been a fountain of knowledge for us regarding the process for their visa so many thanks

fiz

No problem at all and I believe its cheaper

DaveandLinda

Just a reminder that they need to be offshore when the visa is granted - I am sure they are aware of this, but just in case. They will need to keep their case officer informed when they travel to Australia and leave the country so their visa cann be granted.

Oldtimers

We've finally reached our goal - our visa's were granted to-day! :

To all of you at various stages of the process - take heart! it might seem like a life-time whilst you are waiting for a Case Officer, but once this happens, its like a whirlwind trying to meet all the quite short deadlines!

Anyway, just the matter of the bungalow now to sell and then it's Perth here we come!

Steve - can you update the tracker for us please.

Shirley & David