Relocation Advice

Relocating to a new country with a new culture can be a frightening experience, as well as being exciting and hugely rewarding. So in order to make the transition as smooth as possible it’s important you start planning your move as early as possible.

Below we offer some tips to make your migration to Australia as painless as possible!

Before you move

18 months to go

This is the key time to start your initial research and planning. Make sure you start talking to visa agents and find out what type of Australia visa you need to apply for. Try and decide where you’d like to live, and the kind of budget you are looking at. Above all, research hard and make sure you know where you’ll be living, how much you have to spend and what you will be doing about work.

12 months to go

This is the time you need to be starting to apply for jobs and making visits to Australia to view properties. Circulate your CV, send off your visa application and make sure you have all the paperwork you need in one place you’ll need it when it comes to arranging your migration. You’ll also need to ensure your passport has at least 2 years left on it.

6 months to go

If relevant, now’s the time to put your house on the market if you are intending to sell it. You’ll need to get all your medical and police checks done prior to migration and start selling off any items you don’t need. You also need to think about removal firms, and packing up and shipping off furniture, so get some quotes done.

Bear in mind that all school, work and medical files will need to be secured to take with you, and if you have pets, you’ll need to consider getting them innoculated and shipped to Australia. Find out how with our guide to pet removals.

2 months to go

Now’s the time to registering your children in their new school, arrange for rental accommodation on arrival, unless you have already bought a property. You should also be looking at booking flights and stop-over accommodation now, to endure you get a good deal. Finally, you should get your Australian bank account opened. Make sure you have booked and confirmed a moving date with the removal companies.

1 month to go

With such a short amount of time left, you need to move fast! Start forwarding your new address to people and the UK authorities (DVLA, Inland Revenue etc). It’s also a good idea to set up a mail redirect for any contacts that you may and will!  forget. Start closing bank accounts, cancelling cards and shredding any personal papers that you don’t need. Finally, you need to ensure that you have medical cover for Australia.

1 week to go

Your last week before leaving will be hectic, but make sure you make time to cancel newspapers, milk, subscriptions to magazines, direct debits and any other surplus payments that you will not be needing, such as a gym membership. Make sure that your children have all the contacts they need to keep in touch with friends, as the adjustment could be hard for them set them (and yourself) up with an email account, to ensure you can contact friends and family when Down Under.

On arrival

There will be a million and one things to do when you arrive, but the best thing is to ensure you are set up with a mobile phone, and have a car. There are numerous hire car firms found at Australia airports visit Avis or Budget to find out more.

The next step will be to register with the local doctor, dentist and school, and get yourself set up with the internet and a phone line. You’ll also need to register for a tax number, a TFN.

The most important thing is to get to know the local area, find the nearest shops/sports centres/restaurants etc and generally enjoy yourself. It’s key to ensure that you get to know the neighbours and try and immerse yourself in local life, as this is the best way to adjust to the culture shock of living in Australia.

Got a question about removals? Worried about settling in? Join our community to ask questions or just to chat to others in similar circumstances.