uk debt whilst living abroad

lamingk

Advice please,
I have debts with various ccc's back in the uk amounting to approx. 15k.At the moment I have an aggreement with them all and am paying a very small amount off each month without interest being added.I am currently living in the ROI and am looking to move to Australia as soon as possible with my wife and children.
Obviously with such a move pending (wife has been offered a job) we need as much funds as possible.Questions I want to ask are ,1) Can we stop paying our debt whilst living in ROI i.e can we be made to pay it by the uk ccc's 2) can we also be made to pay whilst living in Australia.
Morally I know this is wrong and as yet i'm undecided what to do ,but the opportunity to start a new life down under is tempting and the offer my wife recieved may not arise again.

woody01

So you want to know if it's OK to ignore ALL your debts and sod off abroad without paying them.
I am hopeful that the Australian officials would see you were in debt and not let you in anyway. Just because your wife has a new job, it doesn't give you any rights of passage.

Also, i am pretty sure that Oz have agreements with UK courts (as the USA do), to allow a debtor to be chased and made to pay.

Dirty_Dave

Australia are pretty strict on who they let in and I cannot see why they would want someone in their country with thousands of pounds of debt, after all you need X-amount to enter the country don't you? I would have thought that they would see your debt and say no, but I'm not a pro on this stuff, it's just my take.

lamingk

Without getting on the moral high ground,could I have answers to my question please

Dabooka

lamingk wrote: »

Without getting on the moral high ground,could I have answers to my question please

Sorry mate, but I suspect you'd be in bother in Oz regarding your debts. And the points made about getting resdiential status are bang on too, the authorities won't automatically give you right to permanent residence because of your wife's job, and your debts will be factored in to any application.

To stop paying could have serious implications in the future.

polyalloy

Lamingk, do you mind share a bit on how you get "an aggreement with them all and am paying a very small amount off each month without interest being added."

lamingk

Pollyalloy,by writing to them via this sites template letters and sending income and expenditure forms.Plus lots of phone calls!! Can't get blood out of a stone, as they say .

woody01

You had the facts (with the moral bit thrown in).

1. You could be chased to Oz by debt collections as there are agreements in place.
2. With your debt you wouldn't be admitted to Oz anyway.
3. Your wife getting a job there does not give you right of passage to live in Oz either. You must apply yourself.

Oldernotwiser

Could you consider returning to the UK for a few months and then going bankrupt (don't know what's involved in going bankrupt in ROI).

I'd post your question on the Bankruptcy Board and see what they could tell you about it and how it would affect future emigration plans.

lamingk

woody01' on all 3 you are wrong I have since found out .Are there any experts in this field out there who can shed some light on my original post.No bitter and twisted wasters please.
Thanks in advance

chattychappy

UK judgments can be enforced under Australia's Foreign Judgments Act 1991. The UK is listed in the associated Foreign Judgments Regulations 1992.

I would imagine that UK companies might well employ Australian debt collectors to chase the debt, whether or not its been registered in the hope you will pay. A UK debt must be registered under the above provisions to be enforceable in Australia.

Until you appear on the radar (eg by borrowing locally) they may have trouble finding you.

There are limitation periods with these things.

I think the only "real" expert answer would come from an Australian lawyer. Bear in mind that there may be ethical/conduct issues for a lawyer in answering such an enquiry.

(I'm not an Australian lawyer.)