Consult the experts before such a big move

QI am 68 years old, single and renting. I’m also a dual citizen of Australia and Sri Lanka and plan on returning to Sri Lanka to stay with my brother and sister-in-law.

I have $460,000 in blue-chip shares with a fully franked dividend income of $40,000 a year. I have $65,000 each in QSuper and Sunsuper in accumulation phase, which I intend to cash in and take to Sri Lanka. ($1 equals about 122 rupee.) I also have $10,000 each in two term deposits and $50,000 savings in the bank. I do not plan to return to Australia every six months for tax purposes.

Is my plan a sensible one and what would you suggest?

One of the great pleasures in my life, Steve, was meeting Arun Abey and Suvan de Soysa some 37 years ago and starting our business together. We are still the best of friends and I was recently in Sri Lanka for Arun’s 60th birthday. What a beautiful country.

Because an “international” question like this is beyond my expertise, I am going to duck for cover. Personally, I would keep most of my investments here and use the income for spending until I had lived in Sri Lanka for long enough to know it was permanent. But first I would speak to an adviser about my tax status and also a Sri Lankan expert about the merits of Australian versus Sri Lankan investment.

So my thoughts are not to rush this. A good tax adviser can sort the tax aspects before you go. I would not be shuffling money from what sounds like good investments until I had spent time in Sri Lanka.

This is a big move, and I do hope it goes well.