Year-round sunshine, stunning beaches, laid-back lifestyle. It’s easy to see why more than 1.2 million UK citizens call Australia home. With a shared language and culture, despite being almost 9000 miles way, makes the adjustment to Australia that much easier. But how easy is it to move to Australia?
Emigrating to the land down under is no longer as easy as it used to be, it is still possible for UK citizens to move to Australia. This guide will cover living costs in Australia, where to live, types of visas, everything you need to know in moving to Australia from the UK.
Cost of Living
The cost of living is comparable with the UK, the biggest price jumps being groceries and rent, which averages out being 30% more in Australia. But on the other hand, wages are generally better and most important aspect of all, the quality of life is arguably better. Australia regularly ranks high in best countries to live and work in.
How to get an Australian Visa
The process of emigrating is now a notoriously difficult one, a long time has passed since the days of ‘Ten Pound Poms’. Luckily, there are still several options open to citizens of the United Kingdom looking to live in Australia permanently, most of which use a points-based system to determine the eligibility. The following are the most popular forms of visa open to those from the UK.
Working Holiday Visa
The easiest and most straightforward of visas, if you’re under 30 that is. Popular with backpackers, the working holiday visa allows a stay of up to two years, with mandatory rural work to extend to the second year. With no limit on these visas, and processing times almost non-existent, this visa is perfect if you want to experience Australia for yourself before committing to a more permanent visa.
Working and Skilled Visas
In order to be eligible for most Australian work visas, you must score at least 65 points in its immigration system. To qualify, you must be under 45 years old and dependent on your experience, will earn you a varied number of points. Being proficient in English, being a certain age, and having a trade qualification, will all count towards your points total.
Retiring in Australia
Australia is one of the most popular retirement destinations for UK retirees, but it is arguably trickier than the work visas route. There is a retirement visa pathway, but you will have needed to have previously held an Australian retirement visa or an investment retirement visa.
Healthcare
The Australian healthcare system, known as Medicare, is the public health system. The universal healthcare system provides free or heavily reduced medicines and hospital treatment for all citizens. Even if you are just visiting Australia, Medicare is available for UK citizens as the two countries have a reciprocal healthcare agreement in place.
Where to Live?
Australia measures more than three million square miles, with a land mass 32 times the size of the UK. But with a population of 25.5 million, 15 million less than the UK, you’ll find plenty of space to start your new life. Whittling down your options might just be the most difficult part of moving to Australia.
With most major cities along the coast, the biggest question is where to live in Australia. The four most popular cities for British expats are Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, and Melbourne. With every one of these cities on the coast, as with most settlements in Australia, you can’t really go too far wrong with any of them.
The climate can vary somewhat in Australia, it isn’t all endless summer. Melbourne is known for its ‘four seasons in a day’, and temperatures ranging from lows of 6 degrees in the winter months of June to August and rising to above the 30s in the summer.
The process of moving to Australia from the UK can be a long, tricky process, but we can help reduce some of the stress by helping you save time and money when transferring funds aboard.
In addition to offering highly competitive interest rates Currencies Direct also offers a range of additional services to help you maximise the returns when making an international transfer.
For instance a forward contract allows you to fix an exchange rate for up to a year, protecting you from any unfavourable shifts in the currency market as you are going through the process of moving to Australia.
Get in touch with one of our friendly currency experts and we can help talk you through your currency options..
