Visas, passports, security and more…
The holiday season is nearly upon us and you might be thinking of taking a trip overseas. It’s good to have a break, but make sure you don’t get caught out due to your residency status. You can always leave, but the problem comes trying to get back in. This would totally ruin any good holiday!
You may have a permanent visa to reside in Australia indefinitely but it is important to remember that when that visa was granted to you, it is likely that it would have only had a five year travel permission imposed on it. So, if you plan on leaving Australia for a holiday after that five year period is up, you will require a valid Resident Return visa
You can reapply for theses visas every five years to keep that travel permission alive so make sure that you check the status of your Resident Return visa well before any planned overseas trips and reapply in good time if it needs to be updated.
More information and an online application facility can be found here, or contact us for help. https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/155-
Don’t forget to also check how many months you have remaining on your passport, as often six months is required to travel overseas.
Do you need a visa to travel there, are you clear about safety advice for your chosen destination? It’s always a good idea to check the Australian Embassy’s Smart Traveller guide.
Ensure you are clear as to whether your ticket includes travel insurance and what the coverage is. Like all good insurances the minute you don’t have it, you’ll need it!
Planning on hiring a car over there? Do you need an International Driving Licence? (Check with your travel company or car hiring facility as even though you may be able to drive on your Australian driving licence, the hire company may stipulate that you have to hold an International Driving Licence).
Other tips before you leave – advise your bank if you plan to use your credit card overseas so that they don’t block it when it’s used overseas. Set your online banking facility to pay bills that may arrive whilst you are away or switch to emailed bills. Remember to take your banking key fob if you have one, this will probably have to be checked in with your main luggage rather than contained in your hand luggage. Ring your telephone company to check how to best set up your mobile phone whilst you are away if you are planning to use it. Make sure you understand what could happen if you do nothing – your charges could be quite extensive if you aren’t careful.
If you claim Centrelink Child Care benefits and are taking your children overseas you should advise Centrelink of this as they will be notified of your child’s exit from Australia and this may impact on your payments. This happened to our own super clever immigration lawyer a few years back!
What are you leaving behind?
Do you have pets who need looking after whilst you are away? Book your pet sitter or kennels in advance as this is one of their peak periods.
If you have a friend or neighbour who can put the bins out and collect your post, maybe even do a check of your house a couple of times a week this would help security wise. If you can’t do this, don’t put your bins out at all (take the contents to the tip before you leave), ask Australia Post to hold your mail and think about leaving a light on and partially shutting drapes or blinds or use a timer switch for a light in your house and a radio at night.
There are lots of cool options these days for house sitters or even renting out your house whilst you are away.
Check out Skye Hackett’s Profitable Holidays for some great tips on how to make money from renting your house whilst you are on holiday.
https://www.skyehackett.com.au/
The return
So you are on your way back, you’ve had a lovely time, indulged far too much, but who cares, that’s what holidays are for.
Make sure you are aware of what goods you can and can’t bring back on the plane and into Australia, plus cash amount limits too.
https://www.border.gov.au/FAQs/Pages/What-items-can-I-not-bring-into-Australia.aspx
Lastly and most importantly, when are you going on holiday again!? We work to live, not live to work so get another holiday planned to help with the post-holiday blues!
Need help with your visa?
Contact us today for a confidential discussion about how we can help »
[email protected] Phone: 07 3166 9100
