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Migrating and living in Australia

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  1. #1

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    Migrating and living in Australia

    I am getting more and more fed up of my job and Hong Kong. I have two small children (6 and 2 years old) and I can't imagine them settling down in Hong Kong once they grow up and are independent.

    I am thinking of migrating to Australia. I have enough money for the Investor Stream visa (AUD 1.5 M). If I don't want to start a business, I think I read somewhere that I can use this money to buy government bonds. Does anybody know if I can also use this money to buy Australian listed shares and a house? (I guess I can also ask at the embassy, but it's easier here).

    My question here is: I don't have any particular skill and I am in my early 50s, so there are not many high-paying jobs I can apply for. In case I can only get a low-paid job, would that be sufficient for a decent life? I am thinking of something like store clerk, bus driver, etc.


  2. #2

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    Meet any of these criteria?

    -----------------------------------------
    This option requires you to have managed investments or owned a business, and to be willing to invest AUD 1.5 million in Australian State or Territory Government bonds. Specific criteria include:

    • You have had business and personal net assets of at least AUD 2.25 million for the last 2 fiscal years
    • Under 55 years of age, unless the nominating state or territory certifies that you will make an exceptional economic benefit; and
    • Meet the pass mark in the Business Innovation and Investment Points test (currently 65)
    • You must make an investment of AUD 1.5 million in Australian State or Territory bonds prior to grant of the visa
    • You have 3 years of experience either managing a qualifying business or "eligible investments", and have showed a high level of management skill
    • For at least 1 of the last 5 fiscal years, you have either:
      • Managed a business in which you hold a 10% shareholding; or
      • Managed "eligible investments" of at least AUD 1.5 million


    "Eligible investments" for the purposes of the Investor Stream include:
    • Ownership interests in a business
    • Cash on deposit
    • Stocks or bonds
    • Real estate
    • Gold or bullion
    • Loan to a business
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  3. #3

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    Australia has a fantastic quality of life. I think you'll be happy there and it likely addresses many of the issues you have with Hong Kong. It's also known as the working man's paradise, minimum wage is $18 so even low skilled jobs are reasonably paid.

    Public health and public schools are decent. People value quality of life above work so working conditions are fairly relaxed.

    Any job involving physical labour of some form is well paid because most people want office jobs. Bus drivers would partially fit into that category, it looks like the typical salary is around $25 an hour which would put you at $52,000 a year. Plumbers and electricians are very well paid. Since you already have some money you could do this part time. Often part time jobs pay a higher rate too. If you and your wife both work part time it would be very attractive because you are taxed as an individual not jointly and your tax bracket part time would be very low. Also look into the family tax benefit. At your income level you would likely receive an additional $15,000 per year to support your family from the government. It's only income tested, not asset tested.

    If you want a relaxed, happy suburban life Australia is great. Because minimum wage is so high some things are going to seem expensive to you, especially anything involving you being served by someone: restaurants, massages etc. So you would likely eat out less (have friends over for dinner instead) and go to the beach more. I think it's a good trade especially in your 50s.

    Another piece of advice. Move somewhere like Brisbane where cost of living is lower than say Sydney, life moves at a slower pace and the weather is much nicer. Stay away from Sydney. Melbourne could be OK but it's cold in winter and really hot in summer.

    Last edited by cendrillon; 28-09-2017 at 09:12 AM.
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  4. #4

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    If you have money to buy a property outright to live in you probably can live on A$2500 a month for a family of 4 - depending on whether you are the frugal type or not.

    As to whether you can get a job (whether highly or lowly paid), I would say your chances are not high.

    Use the money to send your kids overseas for studies, probably a better option.


  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cheeky Kiwi:
    If you have money to buy a property outright to live in you probably can live on A$2500 a month for a family of 4 - depending on whether you are the frugal type or not.

    As to whether you can get a job (whether highly or lowly paid), I would say your chances are not high.

    Use the money to send your kids overseas for studies, probably a better option.
    Unemployment seems to be 5.6% (according to google search). It seems rather low to me, although this number might hide some things? Is it difficult to find a job?

  6. #6

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    Australian universities are fine. I had no problem getting paid to do graduate studies at Stanford, Princeton and in Europe after my undergrad in Australia. I'm sure you can get a job if you're willing to work. Gen y doesn't like anything mildly uncomfortable like bus driving or delivering mail. You'll be fine

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  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by cendrillon:
    Gen y doesn't like anything mildly uncomfortable like bus driving or delivering mail
    Or maybe generation Y knows that they have they will need to spend 50 years working at least before they can retire, and are aware that there won't be bus drivers anymore 15 years from now? It might make a lot more sense to do this in OPs situation, but lots of the reluctance that Gen Y/Millenials have to get into any kind of manual labour job is that they saw their parents' generation being laid off because their manual jobs went to robots....

  8. #8

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    So, let me do the math. I could put my 1.5 M into shares and bonds and get a yield of 4.5% (now government bonds offer up to 3% and some shares (for example Westpac) offer 6%, so 4.5% seems very possible), and get A$5,600/month which would be more than enough to live rather comfortably? Then I could still get a part-time job, and get another A$2,000/month?

    What's the catch? What am I missing?


  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff_:
    So, let me do the math. I could put my 1.5 M into shares and bonds and get a yield of 4.5% (now government bonds offer up to 3% and some shares (for example Westpac) offer 6%, so 4.5% seems very possible), and get A$5,600/month which would be more than enough to live rather comfortably? Then I could still get a part-time job, and get another A$2,000/month?

    What's the catch? What am I missing?
    No catch. I can't speak for visa details but keep in mind we have a population of 24M and a country the size of the continental United States. We welcome your labour and your capital . Personally I'm very happy to see migrants who raise both our population and GDP especially with the way birth rates are going in developed countries. Doubly so if you can become a happy member of our society, see Europe for a counterexample.

    The only catch I can see is the net worth requirement of 2.25M AUD.
    Last edited by cendrillon; 28-09-2017 at 10:14 AM.

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff_:
    Unemployment seems to be 5.6% (according to google search). It seems rather low to me, although this number might hide some things? Is it difficult to find a job?
    No. Australia hasn't had a recession for 25 years. It's easy to find a job especially if you're willing to do something undesirable like driving a bus.

    What's being hidden in this number are older people who have become welfare lifers because they've realised they can live pretty comfortably on the dole. They cracked down on long term unemployed and many of those people moved over to sickness benefit. The government got to show better unemployment numbers and these people still got their handouts. These people aren't looking for jobs though so they're not going to make it hard to find a job.
    Nimitz likes this.

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