andyjmason

Hi, I was just wondering if you left your job in the end or not and if so what happened? I'm now 18 months into my ENS 186 (not 187 as I first said) and am very unhappy. I told my boss that i can't continue past my 2 years and will be leaving. They have decided they'd rather i go sooner and they've found a replacement. They've given me a letter saying its mutually agreeable that I leave next month and want me to write back saying I accept this. I want to do so but don't want to leave myself open to any trouble with immigration. I also wonder if the employer is obliged to tell Immi that I have left or not? Thank you

Hi I came as a primary trained BEd teacher with ten years experience teaching ages 3-8, this is early years in the UK. Here its 0-8 so i had to do some voluntary work experience with the 0-2 yr olds in a day care setting and get a letter saying I'd done so so that I could get ACECQA registration to teach a funded kinder program. I also had to register with the victorian Institute of Teachers and they went through my qualifications again, followed by the AITSL who verified everything again for my permanent visa. You need to prove through your degree transcript that you meet certain criteria for teaching practice days and age range covered. I came on a student visa and did my Masters in ECE here. There are heaps of jobs in ECE infact because of the new requirement for day care centres to employ teachers to run the kindergarten programs, as the children don't start school until they're 6 here. I got offered a job teaching such a program with no drama at all, but I had already found the hoops and jumped through them. My employer then sponsored my PR when my student visa expired. Long day care isnt a great place to work as a teacher in my experience but its a means to an end. Not sure about other states but here in Vic there are plenty of ECE vacancies, just not in schools. Inbox me for further info, I am surprised how negative this thread is about your hopes! I haven't found it that way at all. Joanne

Thanks I called them too and after an hour waiting in a queue I finally got to speak to someone who said I'd have to write telling immig what had happened and so would my employer. They said ot would then be 'investigated' and I could have my visa cancelled depending on what they decided. It appears that you can go through appeals processes should that happen, but as with everything in Aus bureaucracy, it involves lots of fees, charges etc. I'm nervous of the risks involved and how much of a chance it is to take with the visa. It actually gives employers too much power to abuse you once its granted and threaten to call immig if you leave.( Which is how it was put in my situation). ::-(

Its a small business with a director and an owner. The director is the bully along with another member of staff and they are both good friends with the owner. So far 60% of the staff have quit through bullying and intimidation but none have been able to challenge what has happened to them. Easier to quit and move on when the visa isn't a massive issue as it is for me.

I'm on an employer sponsored visa which was granted 13 months ago. Prior to that I worked there for 18 months on a temp visa. The place I work has become very unpleasant and the bullying I am suffering there is making me ill. I need to leave sooner rather than later but I am really worried about my visa. I know I would have to appeal and explain my circumstances I keep a professional journal but actually proving bullying is very difficult. I was wondering if anyone has left their employer on this sponsored visa and what the consequences were. I appreciate that everyone's situation is unique but would love to know what happened to anyone brave enough to take the chance. Thank you

Hi Im having trouble locating the thread, so if my reply doesn't match up please inbox me! Basically I resigned and wanted to leave and find the same job elsewhere. They contacted immigration who told them ( apparently) that they'd cancel my visa of I was no longer employed by them. I contacted them myself and was told to try everything I could to resolve matters and stay the 2 years or my visa was likely to be cancelled. After weighing up the worst case scenario we decided that it simply wasn't worth risking losing the visa we had worked so hard for. I am now counting down til I can leave legitimately without repercussions. I figure that the remaining 15 months will go quickly enough and by then we can apply for citizenship and get a job paying the correct rates etc. Its a grin and bear it situation. Happy to explain more of needed. Inbox seems easiest though. This site doesn't seem to include notifications which link directly to a reply to a thread, unless i am looking in the wrong place. Jo

Wow, what a negative view of Melbourne. Not at all how we have experienced it in the 2.5 years we have been here. But I guess you get out what you put in and people will be warm and welcoming here if you are willing to accept change and embrace a new life without harking back to everything British. The weather is a million times better than the Uk all year round. You can easily insulate your home, and its as warm inside as you want it to be, carpets are available just as in the UK. We live in Mornington and love how cheap and easy public transport is into the city, it would cost us twenty times as much to get into the city by train in England. The beaches are lovely, the countryside equal to the UK and the sea is much warmer. Perhaps you were mixing Melbourne up with Malibu?! Best of luck on your return to the UK, especially moving to the dreary, grimy Midlands, we are returning to visit a sick relative next week and are dreading the motorways and the depressing M5 M6 interchange as we pass from south to north. No regrets whatsoever for us thankfully, we love the Aussie way of life, how welcoming they've been to us and how positive their attitude to life is here. So refreshing compared to the 'let's all vote UKIP' doom and gloom of England. We left the beautiful jurassic coast of Dorset to move here and will enjoy revisiting briefly, but the seaside towns of the UK are littered with drug rehabs, ex prisoners and the drinking culture of teens and stag do's, which definitely ruins the potential charm of the beaches.

Always saddens me how argumentative UK people seem to be. One big reason I'm glad to be in Australia, don't miss that negative cultural trait so ingrained in the British.

Thank you, that's reassuring. I was on hold for 90 minutes and they were pretty keen to get rid of me when I did speak to them. When I asked what evidence they required from me to prove my situation she was extremely vague but she was clear on saying they would only investigate if my employer asks them to and then they may or may not pursue it. She also said that it would be an investigation into whether I was not intending to work for them for the two years. I actually was fully committed to the two years and am quite depressed that its gone so wrong so soon. I have no idea how they'd prove I was a fake but its still scary when you have a really spiteful, unprofessional boss. The way she runs her business is shocking so she will do her utmost to make me pay for leaving-through the visa cancellation if she can. I'll update here as it develops.

I am in this position, my employer has made my position untenable since I received the 186 last year and I have tried to resolve issues properly but it just hasn't worked. I have decided to resign and spoke to immigration. They told me my employer can request that i am investigated and they MAY decide to investigate whether I only took the job for the visa and had no intention of staying in the job-I've been there 14 months now. They said I have to email them about my situation and provide all the evidence I have to back my decision. They will then decide whether to " move to cancel the visa", I believe there is an appeals process you can go through. I really don't know how long any of it takes but a vindictive employer will do whatever they can to mess up your life. Luckily I have always maintained a professional journal and this has all the evidence I need to show their breaches and failure to abode by contractual obligations so i will submit this alongside witness statements I have from colleagues. Bottom line being that if you want to change jobs you have to be prepared to lose your visa. For me the job wasn't worth the visa in the end and was making me ill so I had no real choice. If its just for more money I would say stick to your commitment and avoid the hassle. Jo

I definitely needs to be three years. They are ridiculously fastidious about the detail and it would be risky to apply and possibly have your app rejected, thereby losing your money, for the sake of a few months. Unless you have evidence of having done the full 3 years I wouldn't apply yet.

Have you considered paying for your mum to come and stay with you for a part of that period or her applying for one of the visas open to her to stay for a prolonged period or is that not feasible? You need to have resided in Aus for four years to apply for citizenship-would that work for you? The PR visa wouldn't matter then. Be careful about the employer sponsorship part, if they got stroppy you could be in trouble. I read that the 2 years is a moral obligation not a legal one but an immigration lawyer advised me that your visa was likely to be cancelled if your employer notifies immigration that you have left the position. I think you have a right to appeal, but the immigration process isn't an easy one, as you know. Good luck. Keep us posted on what you sort out. I'm on a 186 too and interested in how the 2 year commitment thing is followed through once PR has been granted. Joanne

Its sad when people try to put others off coming in my opinion. Everyone gets out of it what they put in and if I'd listened to the negative comments people offered we would never have made the move here in 2011. So glad we stuck 2 fingers up to the doubters and came anyway. Despite losing out on selling our house in the UK and the exchange rate at that time too we couldn't be happier here, life isn't just about money and our happiness as individuals and as a family is so much greater here. we work and don't earn phenomenal wages but we are comfortable, have no credit cards and debt apart from a manageable mortgage on a lovely home here, but we feel like life is now more about living and less about paying the bills. The people are friendly and we are happy on all levels of our lives. Our 19 year old loves it and our toddler has a great life too. We came with a 'let's do this!' attitude. we left the moans and groans and negativity of the UK behind at Heathrow and made an effort to embrace every new challenge we faced. We want to fit in and be part of this place not criticise and do the classic, never satisfied thing. I honestly believe that if you come with energy, an open mind and a friendly, outgoing attitude you'll thrive here. So to anyone who's not happy here in Aus, by all means hop on a plane and go back to the place you believe is better for you and yours, but don't try to paint a generalised, negative picture for those mustering up the courage to try a new and daunting adventure. Life is short, travel is good for the soul and its better to regret the things you did try than those you didn't. If you hate it, you can go back, no obstacle is insurmountable, its just expensive. Ad if you do go back at least you were brave enough to try it and you'll have learnt something about yourself and the world in the process.

We came aged 44 and 45 in 2011. We got here on a temp student visa (mine) as we weren't eligible for any others at the time. My job was on the critical skills list but I hadn't got recent teaching experience so i did a masters as an international student which allowed us to work too. The course was actually full time but involved about 7 hrs attendance a week at the uni. I got a teaching job meantime and got sponsored to stay permanently through that, it was a stressful and worrying time but all done within 4 months. We are now permanent residents. We moved here from Dorset, lost out on the property market and the exchange rate and spent a lot to ship things and pets all this way. Despite that we have never looked back. We have a 2 yr old and a 19 yr old and our daughter who's 21 will join us when she finishes uni in July in the UK. It really does depend on many personal things whether you end up liking it here or not, but in our experience the culture and attitude of positive thinking and cheerful approach to life is addictive. Its important to let go of the moaning and negativity when you arrive, embrace change and marvel at the differences instead of grumbling about them. It seems more expensive to live here when you first arrive but once you earn dollars its all relative and now the exchange rate is picking up its okay anyway. We are in Victoria on the coast, we have found everyone really friendly and welcoming, its a very cosmopolitan, multicultural place and we love it. We don't want to go back to England and can't wait to become citizens here. We eat differently, socialise differently and barely watch tv anymore, we do miss the bbc, but we have satellite tv with uk channels and apple tv to watch things off youtube if we really want to see a UK programme. Our son hated school here for the first day, he was 16 and found it hard leaving friends etc, but by day two he was already liking it and now says its the best thing that could have happened to him. He looks on facebook at friends' lives back home and is glad he's not trying to get drunk every weekend as they are, there's so much more to do here if you get off your butt and venture out and its not the norm to be an underage drinker. Its been easy for us to make friends through our toddler's activities and we love our lives, its less about work and paying bills and watching depressing stories on the news and more about getting out seeing people and places. Public transport is cheap here in Vic so an hour's train ride into Melbourne costs us about £5 return each, children are free. We couldn't get to the next town in Dorset, ten mins up the track for less than £7. Vic suits us as it has seasons which we prefer. My advice would be to give it a go if you can. I was speaking to a lady yesterday who came in 2012 with 3 children, and her husband is in construction and just looked up a job on Seek.com and got sponsored to come. They then got PR. She feels exactly as I do about the move. If I can help with any other questions please ask. Jo

We came here after my son finished GCSEs. He wanted A level equivalents to get into uni if we went home. He was 16 so missed Yr 11 here and began year 2 of the Victorian Cert of Ed-which is like a 2 year A level program, you study subjects and do assignments and assessments, final exams etc and get an overall ATAR score which the unis here then accept for entry depending on how successful you've been. Alex loved the method of study here, he found the teaching to be superior overall and the relationships between students and teachers were much more respectful and positive too. (He was previously at a very high standard C oF E school in Dorset). Despite having only one year of a two year program of study, (he worked very hard and applied himself throughout) he got a really good ATAR score. We decided to stay in Aus and are now permanent residents so he's going to uni here. We looked into him going back to the UK for uni and they will accept ATAR scores there too-they have some body who convert the grades to A level equivalents. The ke would be to complete year 12 really so you have the cert of education from whichever state you live in. They are all slightly different. The other thing here is that the age for study is flexible so in Yr 12 you can have 16 year olds, 18 yr olds and 19 year olds resitting etc. The experience of living here outweighs the qualification mess up risk, definitely for your teenager. The quality of life is superior, the educatioanl system is superior in our opinion and the teenagers are more interested in skateboarding, meeting up at the beach and having pool parties than getting into trouble, gangs, cheap booze etc. We were filled with trepidation about the move here but within months we were so glad we did it. Even short term it broadens horizons. The Aussie lifestyle and culture is generally more positive and people are welcoming and friendly if you are too. Incidentally, our son attended the local secondary school here, not private or anything special. Its likely you'll be charged school fees as a non resident though so prepare for around $8000 a year for that. Good luck, Jo