Moving Costs
What is the cost of moving to Australia?
The cost of emigrating to Australia is not a thing to be taken lightly!!! Not only
are there the visa costs, but there are other costs such as medicals, shipping costs,
costs in moving your money assets over (including pensions), flight costs. You
will most probably be selling your house which means estate agent cost, solicitor
cost amongst others. The benefit of cheaper housing in Australia is dwindling
fast as Australia succume to the global pressures of the credit crisis. You
will find the cost of living in Australia comparable to that of the UK with some
things cheaper whilst other things will be more expensive. Here's some
pointers to help you work out the costs involved.
Visa Costs
The cost of visas varies widely and is dependant on what type of visa you go for. For
example a 5-year business visa cost approximately £2,000 whilst a 4-year last remaining
family member visa cost over £2,500. Check the Australian Immigration Webpage for
more details.
Other Visa Costs
Other visa costs such as medicals and police reports can be around £250 per person
Assurance of Support
Some visas require an Assurance of Support
from an Australian residant and is around $5,000 for a single person or $7,000 for
a couple. Check the details of the visa to see if this is required or
contact the Australian Immigration Department
Shipping
Shipping your personal belongings can cost anyway from £1,000 (approximately a pallet
load) to £5,000 (a 40-foot container), but don't forget to add on insurance aswell
which can easily come to another 10% on top. Don't forget to account
for the cost of quarantining your pets if you intend to take them to Australia with
you. Be prepared also for any quarantine costs that might be charged
due to you for handling any items that they deem either hazardous or unwanted. Our
dedicated Shipping has
some more details for you on this subject
Selling Your House
This obviously depends on the value of your house, but basically you need to account
for the solicitors and estate agents fees. Don't forget any long term
contracts that you might need to either buy out of or keep going, such as Internet
or Phone plans
Pension
Depending on where you move your pension too and when you move your pension, there
may be costs involved. Our
Pensions page will give you some more detailed information
Flight Ticket
With the prices going up as much as they are recently, it is currently costing around
£1,000 per person for a return ticket to Australia. Don't expect to pay
half that for a one-way ticket, but do expect around the £600-£700 mark at least
Moving you money over to Australia
When calculating how many Australian Dollars your Pounds Sterling will give you,
contact someone like
HiFX to get an idea of what exchange rate you will get as it will differ
from what the dollar is currently trading at. Also, we provide the current
exchange rate on the top-right
of each page for our website
Renting a House in Australia
There's plenty of properties to rent in Australia, given that most people wanting
to sell can't due to the volativity of the property market, but that doesn't mean
you'll get a cheap deal Depending on how close you want to live to the
CBD and or course how modern and clean the place you require to be, expect to pay
easily $500+ for a half decent place per week!
Buying a House in Australia
Just like in the UK, buying a house is a costly business. There are the
usual solicitors fees, but you must get buildings and pest inspections carried out
as part of the contract which add to the cost. You can get a good solicitor
for around the $600 mark and the inspections should really cost no more than $150
a piece
When you get your mortgage, make sure the bank clearly indicates to you what charges
will be made to you at the point of sale or you may end up with less than you need
to buy the house. You are also required by law to insure the property
once you enter the contract, however most insurance companies cover the house for
free if you continue the insurance for the first year.
Getting mobile
You can drive on your English driving license for 3 months, after which, you will
need to get an Australian driving license which can cost as little as $28 for a
1 year license, but the best option is to get a 5 year license for only $70 or so. This
does depend on the state that you are getting the license for, so please use it
only as an indication
Buying a car costs will vary state to state given the different legislations, but
account for Rego and insurance when looking at cars to buy. Rego will
be approximately $600 per year and insurance can easily be $600+ although insurance
isn't necessarily required in some states (Queensland for example)
Medical Cover
The health system in Australia is not free, so be aware that if you require medical
assitance early on in you stay in Australia it will cost you.
Other Costs
Don't forget the usual hidden costs of moving such as phone installation, mobile phones, internet
access, Foxtel (Sky) installation