With our retirement visa – you can purchase your perfect home on arrival

As a permanent resident of Australia on arrival, you will be free to buy any property you wish free from the foreign investment prohibitions currently enforced by the FIRB.

Purchasing a property can often act as a useful economic entry point for people who are looking to retire in Australia as opposed to being forced to rent due to foreign investment restrictions imposed on those who only hold temporary residence.

Healthcare is important

Life expectancy in Australia is higher than in many countries and the health and social care facilities on offer are of an excellent standard. However, retirees should always remember that while they will be entitled to any government or medical benefits during their retirement in Australia this can be limited.

Therefore, they may wish to secure their own fully-comprehensive insurance policy. We partner with leading Australian medical insurance providers to provide such medical cover as required.

Practical Considerations When Emigrating to Australia

Make sure you fully understand what your financial situation is before you begin your emigration case to retire in Australia. You need to address what to do with your pension, what your tax liability is and whether you are entitled to any benefits. Here’s how…

• Acquire an estimate of your state pension so that you can work out how much you will have to live on each month.
• Ask HM Revenue and Customs for information on your tax liability on any income over your UK personal allowance. Be mindful of the fact that UK tax payable from abroad can vary quite significantly from country to country.
• Seek independent tax advice about the benefits of offshore banking – it could make a big difference to your savings.

Other things to take care of…

Your “to-do” list might seem uncontrollably long, but here are another couple of things that need to be dealt with that might have slipped your mind:

• If you decide to split your time between Australia and the UK, work out how best to secure your property if it will be empty for a number of months at a time. Also, remember to inform your mortgage lenders and insurers that you are going to be elsewhere.
• Notify your utility companies of your imminent departure and provide them with a forwarding address so that they can send on any refunds that you could quite possibly be entitled to.
• Contact your local Council Taxation organisation, the Electoral Register, your banks and building societies and make sure all mail will be forwarded to your new address.

Finally, when moving to Australia use a currency exchange specialist rather than a bank to transfer your money, this could save you thousands. We work closely with our partners to ensure our clients receive the most favourable exchange rates available.

Australia has one of the worlds most socially and politically relaxed climates

According to a survey by HSBC in association with YouGov, around 27% of ex-pats cite a better climate as the main reason for moving abroad – far more than the average of 12% for other countries.

Australia is a stable, safe country with low levels of crime. It has a thriving ex-pat community, and many are retired – with 14% classifying themselves as retired according to research by HSBC. One-third are aged over 55, and many are drawn to Australia due to its relaxed culture. Accordingly, 43% moved to Australia to improve their quality of life.

Housing, healthcare and the cost of living are all attractive if you’re planning to retire to Australia. While housing is mostly a rental market, property isn’t expensive especially if you’re willing to live outside of city centres.