Rock Hound

Hi all So i arrived back in the uk on friday now i am just looking into my driving licence. My uk one expired in 2013 whilst i was in australia (i still have the card and paper but presume i cant renew it without a hefty fine) now i only have my WA one. I have just got the D1 form and it says i must be normally resident in the UK for more than 185. Having lived at the same address for over 23 years before moving to oz does this count or do i have to wait for 185 days? Cheers Paul

Hi all Just a quick question. I am in the process of trying to get a 190 visa and my job is on the schedule 2 list thingy for the state nomination meaning i need a 12 month contract for the visa application. Now my question is say i got the visa and started working the contract, what would happen if i was let go before the 12 months was up? Would this mean the visa could be cancelled? Cheers

As has been said the industry has cut back and laid a lot of experienced people off. The only real chance would be for you to be in an actual mining town such as Mt Isa, Kalgoorlie or broken hill etc. Even then it is more a case of who you know not what you know. Chances for a new guy are really slim at the moment.

The problem with a WHV i that i originally came over on one and used a little over 7 months and isn't there a cooling off period or something? Yes i am a geologist and although i have supervised an onsite lab it was basic and only ran 1 type of analytic test.

Thank you all for the support, i was sort of expecting it and in the end it is probably for the best as the last few months haven't been the best experience (i was already looking for a new job). 90 days makes it easier but the major coincidence is that it is the same day as when my rental agreement is up. I was looking to move but it does make me think if i will need a place in a few months.

Hi All Well i have just had the news through i am being made redundant from the beginning of next month. Now when i originally got the visa you had 28 days to find new work after my current contract was finished. However i have been in contact with an agent who says i have 90 days, is this now correct? They must have changed it and i was not informed. If my visa grant was before this change i take it that it was applied to old 457 visas as well? Cheers Paul

Yes i would never leave an animal to suffer. It is not a nice feeling though but at least it was quick. Just remember that you need to remove the carcase from the road as it attracts more animals. Try to go at least 10m off into the bush.

I recently went on holiday and used insure4less

I snotted my first one a couple of months ago (after being here for over 2 years working in bush it had to happen), it was early morning in a work ute. I let it come around but i had broke it's leg so you know...... Even though i have been hunting it really wasn't a nice feeling so i know were you are coming from.

As it is the industry is in decline with thousands of people being laid off in the past few months and more on the cards. If he is a certified boiler maker (welder) then he might get lucky but if he does make sure to buy a lotto ticket......

ok so pretty much confirmed my suspicions on the employer sponsored visa. Are there any other options? The problem is my 2 years would be the start of January-ish at which point I don't know if geo's will still be on the skills list.

Hi All So following some advice and before I go off and contact an agent I thought I would see what advice I could get here. Basically I am a Geologist and I came over in May 2011 on a WHV. I got a job with my current company pretty much straight away and worked for them for the full 6 months allowed on my WHV before getting my 457. Due to a mess up by my company in getting the 457 at the end of the 6 months I had to resign for about 3 weeks before being rehired when my 457 came through. What are my basic options? I have had a look at the immi website and I am slightly confused. I have been looking at the company sponsored residency visa I have to work for them for 2 years so would this mean the two years would be the time when I was rehired? Cheers Paul

Yeah i have started looking into it i probably should find an agent as i have some big questions that need answering after doing some research. I have just got to research agents i suppose. I have tried to find work out in africa but everything seems to need 5+ years experience and i only have a bit over 3 unless i am looking in the wrong places. I have only ever took a quick look at south america and found most places wanted spanish speakers. If you don't mind me asking i don't suppose you have any links/contacts? Please pm me is you do. Cheers

I have been telling people back in the UK not to come out at the moment and even then some aren't listening. I luckily still have a job at the moment thanks to making some prudent decisions by taking on a project very few in the company wanted to go to due to the remote site. I was in the exploration department for around 6 months after my old mine site shutdown and i could see it starting to head a bit south so i put in for this new shortish term (6 months or so) project as it was guaranteed work. It was only a month or so later that the gold price plummeted and then about 2 weeks after that they laid off over 3 quarters of the exploration department. Looking back that could have been me but i probably have work till December now then who knows. I have been looking since september for new work i have had a few sniffs but alas nothing has come through due to cut backs. As people have said it is very hard now finding someone to sponsor a 457 visa which is unheard of for people in my line of work (Geology). Going back to june last year i had recruiters contacting me every day with possible positions. I suppose I need to look into getting my residency visa....

Looks like he went to the uni. of plymouth so my best guess he is an enviromentalist :wink: or has blagged a geo job from their phys geog and geology course but he doesn't look or the sound the type to be a rock god :laugh: On another note people should lock down their facebook profile a bit more...