new to Forum and need to get outta here fast!

[ohms]

Hi all,

i'm all new to these forums having been told about this community by a friend who is also wanting to jump the blighty ship and leave for sunnier, happier, more laid back OZ climbs.

I'm quite fortunate in that I got to spend 12 months living, working and travelling in OZ during 2006 and absolutely loved the place. I travelled the usual east coast backpacker trail, but also got to see Melbourne and as much of the outback as any mere mortal could ever want to see in the form of a 2 week drive from Townsville to Darwin with a 10 day stop over in Tennant Creek with a blown head gasket for good measure! Can laugh about it now!

Anyway, I'm 28 now and ever since returning to the UK, Australia has been in the forefront of my mind and to this end I've been looking into ways of getting over there and ultimately gaining residency.

I have no formal qualifications to offer the country and have obviously realised that in order to fulfill my dream, training is going to be the only way forward.

It is to this end that i would like peoples advice on my intended plan. Whilst I was over there i spent a good deal of time visiting different institutions, chatting with the tutors and generally getting a feel for there education system and the costs involved with my intended plan.

Basically I want to live in south east Queensland, and have been looking at TAFE courses. Courses specifically in Automotive Mechanical, they offer something called a certificate III in automtive technology which to be honest sounds fantastic. I am and always have been a total petrol head and am very handy with the spanners and a competent home mechanic, but as yet have never gained qualifications...mainly because there is no avenue into this type of work in the UK, trust me I've looked...Too old sir, unfortunately!

So the course is basically perfect and runs for 2 years, but what I want to know is that once the 2 years are up, can I stay, assuming I've passed with flying colours etc???

Is it still a massive gamble with zero certainty.

Thanks and I look forward to your inputs.

[wardy]

I am led to believe that once you have acquired your skill as long as it is on the skills list you can apply fro permenant residency.

Your trip sounds amazing.

Oh and welcome to poms in oz

[keily]

ho ohms
if your only 28 you can go on a workin visa 18 to 30 / witch last s 1 yr then u can apply for another yr when your thare during these 2 yrs you can look in to getting a company to sponser u in for permenent residency
there must be corses u can go to in oz / ie nightschool /for mechanics . like u can here and gain the ozzie equivelent of our hnc or hnd
or when your 2 yr workin visa is finnished you could apply for a student visa
keily ..

[ohms]

Thanks for the welcome people.

Unfortunately the working Visa is no longer an option for me as my second year extension has basically expired. You get 12 months from the date of applying for the extension to re-enter the country, this date passed a couple of weeks ago.

You only get one working holiday visa unfortunately.

The course i am intending to do is on the skills shortage list so should be OK. I had heard that after you've spent 2 years studying and living in OZ it gets easier to stay, can someone confirm this to me. Better still has anybody actually made the step of starting a re-training TAFE type course that is on the skills shortage list?

thanks

[Gollywobbler]

Hi ohms

Yes - lots of people have done the student visa route, which is what you are describing. Mostly one reads dire warnings about it (rightly so) because it is a huge risk when one is uprooting a family of 4 or 5 people and the income of the breadwinners will be limited because of the restrictions on the number of hours they can work.

Also, the courses tend to cost around $10,000 each per annum and I think it has to be a 2 year course in order to obtain the necessary Australian qualifications.

Having got the Australian qualification, I believe one can apply for a further 1 year visa or something whilst you gain the experience needed on top of the qualification (I think you need 900 hours experience gained in addition to practical, hands-on experience orgaised as part of the course.)

In your case, however, the student visa route might be a very good one if you are single and can afford the course because you can probably live in digs/shared house/whatever and so on.

Also, being in Oz gives you the chance to canvass garage-owners and such like who - if they take a shine to you - might be willing to sponsor you for a visa that will either give you immediate PR in Oz or is capable of leading to that in due course.

Start here, I suggest:

Students - Visas & Immigration

and

Go Matilda - Your Gateway to Australia - News

HOWEVER - I am guessing but there might also be another possibility for you. There is some other kind of visa which is designed to cover a apprenticeship/occupational training situation. Please see these links:

Go Matilda - Your Gateway to Australia - News

Occupational Trainee Visa (Subclass 442)

I gather that this visa has not been a great hit because the people who have to sponsor or approve it have proved to be unwilling to do so or something. Nonetheless, it might be worth a word with Alan Collett of Go Matilda because if it is not a viable idea for you, he would be able to say so in 2 seconds, saving you a load of pointless research.

You can contact Alan in Melbourne via these links:

Go Matilda - Your Gateway to Australia - Contact and Feedback

Or you can e-mail or PM him via Poms in Oz, as you prefer.

The Go Matilda team do not charge for 10 minutes on the phone to discuss possible visa options with you.

Good luck

Gill