Hi - first post from me. I've taken advice from a solicitor friend of mine and he's indicated that bankruptcy is the best solution to my current position. I am shortly due to petition the court and set the ball rolling on my bankruptcy. I have a question with regard to travelling abroad. I currently have a 12 month working holiday visa for Australia which is valid and my parents have suggested I use and they will cover the cost of my flights. I have friends in Australia that will put me up and have advised that temporary work will be straightforward to come by. I feel very lucky given my circumstances to have this potential opportunity to get away from things for a while and try and straighten my head out. I feel it will allow me to get my life back on track when I return to the UK. However I am concerned that if I go through with the bankruptcy my holiday visa would be affected. Can anyone tell me if I will still be allowed into Australia on this agreed visa (there were no questions referring to BR when I filled it out). Many thanks, Paddy.
If you already have the visa then I can't see it being a problem. You could always check with the Embassy just to make sure but I doubt if being bankrupt is going to cause any problems from entering Oz.
You will need to inform the OR of your contact details when you move and also changes to your income when you get some temporary work in Oz but other than that it should be fine.
Thanks for the reply - will the OR expect a contribution from any income I receive whilst in Oz? Does the fact I want to leave the country shortly after meeting with the OR cause me any issues or add any further scrutiny than would be normal? I currently live in England but will be moving home to my folks before heading out to Oz - I was recently made redundant and do not expect to be back in full time employment before I go. Where does this leave me with IPAs etc?
There is no problem with leaving the country shortly after declaring BR and this is what quite a few people do before emigrating to the US, Oz, NZ, Canada, etc. and it won't cause the OR to scrutinise your financial records any more than anyone else.
During your 12 months of bankruptcy you will need to inform the OR of any changes in your income. Whether you will pay an IPA or not will depend upon the amount of disposable income (DI) you have and the same rules will apply in Oz as they do in the UK i.e. more than £99 DI and you will need to pay an IPA.
Hi - first post from me.
Posted - 17 August 2009 : 18:28:42
