Advice regarding having no fixed street address

[StuM]

Drivers licences are the big problem. Pretty much everything else can be done with a PO Box.

It may be worth a trip back to NZ and get a new NZ licence (assuming you don't currently have one) since they are good for 10 years. otherwise, a trip back to Qld in 4 years time may be called for.

[StuM]

As for passports, any NZ High Commission or Embassy can provide the forms and a courier service to/from NZ for a passport renewal (for a fee). Just drop of the forms to them and pick up the passport from them when it arrives. It generally only takes a couple of weeks.

But be aware that once you lodge the renewal, your current passport is cancelled, so wherever you are located at the time, you may need to apply to local authorities for a new/extended visa once you receive your new passport

[Ironman162]

I just use UltimateOz mail forwarding service in Sydney.
They provide a street address and services like mail scanning and forwarding to an email address.
Hope this helps I started off with a friends address but it didnt last.
Mail forwarding is much more reliable and tailored for travellers.

[Heg]

Originally Posted by Kiwi.

Hi, NZ adult passports are now for ten years. Your old passports don't have to have expired before you apply for a new one. I'd get new ones. Many countries require your passport to have a minimum of six months validity.

Just renewed our NZ passports last year, so they are good for the next 9 years. Will also swap our AU drivers licence for a Kiwi one when we are next in NZ, as the Aussie one is only valid for 5 years as opposed to 10 years on the Kiwi one.

[Heg]

Originally Posted by StuM

Drivers licences are the big problem. Pretty much everything else can be done with a PO Box.

It may be worth a trip back to NZ and get a new NZ licence (assuming you don't currently have one) since they are good for 10 years. otherwise, a trip back to Qld in 4 years time may be called for.

Looked into this yesterday and we are going to do exactly that.

[tuffr2]

It is not easy. I am in the USA and run into the same issues. It is really difficult to get off the grid.

Renting a car w/o a drivers license is not going to be easy...I would say impossible.

Now here in the USA I need health insurance to boot. I need to pick insurance that matches a state.

Not perfect but for the few things that can not be electronic but can you use a family member address? And they can contact you when you get something. Just a thought.

[brianlara 3]

When in Thailand for 2 years I got a Thai drivers license. Had to sit a test but the process was friendly and easy. Should add, I was working there.

[Alastair A]

Hi Best wishes with your plans. I suggest you place a long term PO mail forwarding order your last residential address. This could be to your PO Box or I suggest a more phone/email advice flexible private mail forwarding service. Then you just keep using your old address as usual and pick up your forwarded mail where-ever you instruct. Best wishes and happy sailing.

[Kiwi.]

Hi, it maybe too late but have you managed to avoid GST? If the boat is new then you should have it be a New Zealand boat delivered into Australia and therefore no GST payable in either country provided you exit within 12 months.

[Heg]

Originally Posted by Kiwi.

Hi, it maybe too late but have you managed to avoid GST? If the boat is new then you should have it be a New Zealand boat delivered into Australia and therefore no GST payable in either country provided you exit within 12 months.

Oh, if only you knew the dramas re our dealings with customs and GST and this boat Short story -we can import her on a temporary basis but customs still want a bond of 15%

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Heg

Oh, if only you knew the dramas re our dealings with customs and GST and this boat Short story -we can import her on a temporary basis but customs still want a bond of 15%

Well, a 15% bond beats a 15% payment most days!

Jim

[Heg]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Well, a 15% bond beats a 15% payment most days!

Jim

Very true

[Kiwi.]

Hi again, I assume you have a Queensland boating licence which is normally attached to your Queensland drivers licence. Because I have a New Zealand drivers licence and a Queensland boating licence I always carry a licence verification printout with me when boating in Australia. The site is https://www.service.transport.qld.go...l?windowId=38a

[Stillwater1]

In the U.S. the whole address thing is a bit of a mess, though not entirely so. Many people live full time in Recreational Vehicles, and of course sailboats, or are "homeless" for whatever reason. Yet they need to have an address for all the usual reasons.
Many if not most probably just use a friend or family member's address, but now even that can be problematical if my experience is becoming more frequent.
A few states have laws allowing for residency without requiring one to either rent or own property. South Dakota is the one I chose to use when I retired and started traveling full time. So now my address includes the line PMB xxxx along side the street address of the mail forwarding business I use. My bank, my credit cards, the IRS, the Social Security Administration, my South Dakota driver's license all have that as part of my address.
However, last year, my investment brokerage froze my account. They questioned my address, and after a lot of back and forth with me pointing out all the ways I could prove I was a real U.S. citizen living abroad, they nonetheless handicapped my account with them because I do not have a physical address where I receive utility bills with my name on them, the only item they claimed would legitimize me to them. They said they would no longer allow me to PURCHASE stocks or bonds, I could only sell them, and they would close the account once I had sold all the items associated with the account. It was a weird conversation to be sure.

[tuffr2]

In an RV in the US you do have mail forwarding and the State of South Dakota to help. But buying / selling stocks in financial. I would bet it has something to do with funding terrorism. The US government wants to close what they precive as a loop hole. Plus you have to go back to South Dakota to get a drivers license every few years.

Traveling the world on a boat I would think that would be the ultimate 'off the grid' situation. I rely on cell phone coverage to do most of my banking. Once you get 15 miles off shore there is no cell coverage...ugh.