oppyddrum

1k a week?!!! definitely look for alternatives. wanting to lock you in to a new contract is just wrong. i have always been able to go month to month after a lease ends. only obligation then is to give 2 months notice or something like that.

From what i know, depending on what you do, you employer might be able to apply for a PR for you under special agreements. My dad got his PR done at 53 under a special agreement. You might wanna ask if that is an option.

It is also possible that the 457 can be renewed after the first 4 years (even though as many people say, the uncertainty of "living" here on a PR is too hard to deal with), i have known people who have been here over 3 rounds of 457s and so it is possible, i would say that depends on your occupation as well. the people i know who have "lived" here on the 457s happen to be doctors. they seem to be the most secure occupation i know of.

3rd option like some people before me have said, is to consider this a long vacation for the family. a chance to see another part of the world and experience a different culture. If your kids like it a lot, even if you have to leave, they can come back on WHVs and/or gain skills that qualify them for skilled migration and they can end up coming back and staying here. if they don't, they get to go back.

I would give it a go, but definitely bring up the issue of maybe trying for a PR with the employer.

My $19.14. Goodluck

I would say not closely related. being a music teacher can be at any level and your diploma is quite specific to early childhood. this is my opinion though, i am sure there will be other more knowledgeable people along to confirm or refute my statement(s).

And i knwo that a course registered as 1.5years does NOT meet the 2 years Australian study requirement. It has to be registered with CRICOS as a 2 year course.

I did look up the course you mentioned (i looked at TAFE SA) http://cricos.deewr.gov.au/Course/CourseDetails.aspx?CourseID=83067 and its a 102 week course, now, that i reckon qualifies as a 2 year course... i believe.

Did not see an answer to that specific scenario before i asked. now i know.

Cheers

i don't know if you have to change your address. i believe i read somewhere that Immi can organize for you to have your ceremony done at a neighboring council... i am sure someone will be along to confirm or deny.

I suggest you talk to one of the registered migration agents on this group. wrussell is one. there are several others.

What if the child lives in Australia already with the Australian parent? would the non Australian parent be able to get a WHV then? just curious really.

Working Holiday... thats cool. I live in Newcastle though, about 2hrs drive away from sydney.

Sounds like you are set for an exciting time.

I am nowhere near newtown but just wanted to say goodluck. stopped by mostly because your first name seems of a Nigerian Descent, is it? anyways, you travelling through or are you making our island your new home?

i'd love a $115k job right now. lol. but yea, like others before me have said, depends on your lifestyle but on the average, i would say, you will be okay. Good luck and congrats on the job

Goodluck, I really hope you find something in the 90 days.

You need to apply for your TFN. that's quite important if you are going to be working (tax wise)

Thanks guys, @CaptainR: Thanks for that. Will spend time this weekend digging. @TerryDXB: Yea, i do think my experience so far should be a plus if i applied for the grad program. I am happy for an initial salary cut. like you said, it will be for a longer term benefit. i do think the applications for grad programs for 2015 already closed though. talk about crappy timing. lol @Paul1Perth: I did think doing one of those short courses might be a good way to network. You never know where you will meet someone who has info that can help.

I did register for a Subsea Technology Seminar in Sydney to hold in about 2 weeks. its a 2 day course and is meant for people who might be interested in making that switch to the subsea field or who are new in the field. their premise is that it is a rapidly growing field and there is massive shortage at the moment. I am really not sure what to expect from it but i will see what they have first. I will definitely bring some of the feedback here in case someone else out there is thinking along the same lines. btw, it costs about $2500 but i did not have to pay 'cos my parents (in perth) know someone who knows the instructor (organizer also from perth). sounds like a bargain to me. hahaha

Like most people have said, it is possible. i even know people with 4. as long as the countries allow multiple citizenship. My son has 3 passports, US, Australia, Nigeria.

@ CaptainR: now researching those. thanks!

Thanks guys,

you are right, i'll just go ahead and send in my resume for those jobs anyways, i might catche a break. and i will definitely be looking into some of their grad programs. i am 29 at the moment, @ TerryDXB: you reckon thats too old for the grad program?

@ Angela Claire: I have got my citizenship here so i am pretty flexible in terms of location, i might take a look at positions in Aberdeen as well. I think i just need to get a leg in somewhere and then move myself around after i have something of a valuable bargaining chip.

Again, thanks guys for all the input. none of you said anything about a short course in say Instrumentation and Control for Oil and Gas or Power Generation for Oil and Gas to sort of ramp up interest when they look at my resume... i would like not to have to. oil and gas courses are quite expensive!!

Hi guys,

I have been thinking about this for a while and i was just wondering if there was/is anyone out here who might be able to provide some advise on what might be a good strategy.

Background: Bachelors of Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Masters of Electronic Engineering, MBA. I have worked 100% as an electrical engineer in the rail manufacture and coal mining industries. I have a total of about 5 years of work experience, mostly Design, Reliability and maintenance.

I would like to make a shift to the Oil and Gas industry, but most of the jobs i see want experience in O&G already. I have toyed with taking some sort of short course in an oil and gas related field to give myself a leg up...

This might be a long shot but does anyone have any suggestions as to what else i could do, or where i could look for a leg in the door?

Cheers.

first thing that comes to mind...

https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/24675397/couple-accused-of-457-visa-scam/

Just shows that not everyone's case is the same. Nobody is saying that every single African will get a security check or delay, but yes there is a much higher chance that it will happen. It's not just nationality either, there's a number of triggers that will lead to extra checks being made, for example a South African doctor might sail through whereas a Nigerian Biochemist is likely to have extra scrutiny.

I did not imply that everyone's case is the same, neither did i imply that the OP was incorrect. I was just pointing out that i have not heard of any specific complaints from applicants from Africa; i have heard many middle eastern complaints but not African. that was my point. And i was/am privy to quite a few "African" applicants' processes. not just talking from my own experiences.

Thanks for "explaining" it to me though.

That must be a new thing. I am originally from an African country and I did not experience any sort of real delays. my applications (422, 457, 175 (now 189)) all got processed within prescribed time frames, some even in record time. same thing for my parents (422, 457 and 856). never a delay. and this is the first i am hearing of a specific problem with African applicants. Pakistani, afghan and other middle eastern applicants have complained in the past and it has been attributed to the agencies in their countries taking forever with security checks.

Maybe email the CO to "ask if there is anything else they need you to provide"... i have seen a few people from both high risk and low risk countries do that when they feel their application is stuck somewhere. it sometimes triggers some movement. maybe try that?

If you have not gotten a divorce, i would expect it to simply be a case of applying for a partner visa... and the kid will be on the application as your child, and his step child. With Legal marriage, i don't think there is much else needed (a la evidence of ongoing relationship).

If you divorced him though and now want to get back together, that might be more complicated but then the first place my mind goes to is if you are gonna remarry, then a PMV might be an option... (that does not necessarily happen fast but it is an option)

These are just my thoughts, i am sure if i am wrong, someone will point it out soon.

PS: i am not a migration agent so i may be talking rubbish. lol

Congrats CollegeGirl... have followed your story (in a totally non-creepy way lmao) from the PMV days, happy its all come to a beautiful summary.

I have lived in Newcastle for the last 3 years, and i did not like it at first, but that was because i did not know what was where then. I have grown really fond of Newie (as some of us call it :smile:)

The beaches are spectacular (look for merewether, bar, Nobbys and Newcastle Beaches). Merewether beach also has an ocean bath, the largest in the southern hemisphere i think. the view at Merewether is really nice and there is a nice cliff right there for paragliding (if you are into that sort of thing). Stockton beach for awesome dunes and lots of activities to do there (Downhill tobogganing, Quad biking, Horse and camel tours, 4wdriving). you can actually take your own 4WD into the dunes and have a really good time testing the limits of your vehicle (good luck if you break it. lol) There is also Dolphins and whales coming through here in the early winters... you can sometimes see them from the beaches. awesome! if you have dogs, there is Horseshoe beach specifically for dogs, and redhead beach which allows dogs on as long as you pick up after them.

There are a lot of nature parks that have really extensive walking and biking trails, look up blackbutt reserve. Blackbutt also has enclosures with lots of the native Aussie animals as well as playgrounds and the like for kids to have a great time on a Sunday afternoon.

The Hunter Vineyards are a short drive away for amazing wine and cheese tours.

The city is not as good looking as you would expect a CBD but it has its charms and there is a revitalization effort going on at the moment to sort of bring the CBD into the 21st century, but preserving the heritage buildings which are quite a few. lol. Lots of good places to eat and have a good evening out in the city and in some of the neighboring suburbs, there is a very active night live in the city, lots of the suburbs are ghost towns past 8-9pm on weekends though lol. 2 Westfield Malls within say 15 minutes of each other (no idea why lol), and they are both pretty nice with a wide variety of regular and high end stores for your shopping fix.

We have got a major NRL team (Newcastle Knights) that you can barrack for as well as a major soccer team (Newcastle Jets). the sporting life in Newie is pretty live. lol

Cost of renting in the city has increased a bit lately, and you are mostly restricted to older buildings (with more character and heritage :wink:) and for an old 3 bedroom in or close to the CBD you are looking at about 390/week or more. but if you moved out say 30 mins from the CBD to the newer suburbs, you can get brand new 4 bedrooms for 360/week and on, depending on what you are looking for. There are a lot of new developments as well, so if you are looking to buy, there is a lot of that happening at the moment.

There are a lot of good schools at all levels, public, private and catholic. and we have a university (university of Newcastle) which is ranked pretty high, as well as several campuses of NSW TAFE.

The job market was really strong because of the coal industry until about 1.5yrs ago when things started to look not as great so there have been a lot of job cuts in the area lately, so you might want to have work organized before you get here... we are hoping for things to pick back up as it is being said that this happens every few decades and then picks right back up, just market fluctuations they say.

The people are mostly nice, welcoming and friendly. Yes there are some nasties around the place but not more than you would find in any other major city. As long as you stay int he right neighborhoods, you will usually be around good people. I have seen a bit of discrimination and some racism but again, not more than exists in any other major city. the nastier element are on the minority by far.

the drivers in Newcastle are not raging mad like the "Sydney-siders" or even Melbournians.

The weather is mostly great, summers are not too hot and winters are not that cold... it gets really rainy at the beginning of winter though, but the sun stays resolute the whole time. and the water temps are usually warmer regardless of the actual air temps. For the most part, weather wise, really good.

We are just 2 hours from sydney, an hour from the central coast (beautiful beautiful coastal region), about 12 hrs from melbourne, 10hrs from Brisbane...

Wow, i can not believe i have said this much about a city i did not want to like. i guess 3years and counting will do that to ya! lol

Let me know if you have any specific questions though. Note to self: speak to the city council about becoming a city ambassador. :wink:

My daughter was included on our 175 visa at the age of 16 in full time education when we lodged our application but because she was at uni and staying in the halls at the time of the visa grant she was refused PR as no longer classed as a dependant of the visa applicant .Her uni loan , and the fact that she didnt live at the residing home of the visa applicant meant her PR was refused .If she had stayed at home and remained as a dependant she would have gained PR along with the rest of her family ..she will now have to apply independentantly

that is weird, My sister got her PR under my parents and she was a full time student overseas (in America and has not lived with them for 6 years)... the criteria i believe is being a full time student and financially dependent on the main applicant... is it too late to have this decision re-evaluated? just wondering.

insurance is not necessarily cheaper. it actually went up for us!