JP and A

Hi all- I usually don't go to strangers for advice on deep things like this, but I figured this would be the best place to go as there are a lot of like-minded people on this forum who may have been through a predicament like mine before who could offer their two cents. To begin with, moving to Australia has always been the ultimate goal and light at the end of the tunnel for me. I met my wife in 2008, moved to England from the States (where I'm from) soon after and the goal was always to live and work in the UK for a few years and then move to Oz. This was a goal we talked about throughout our being together and something we both looked forward to. My wife (a German national) did two stints in Australia in her early-mid 20's- a working holiday visa for a year and then another month trip a few years later and she absolutely fell in love with the country. It's her favourite place in the world and was always in tears on her last day in the country (like most, I'm sure)! We visited Oz over this past Christmas holiday for 3 weeks, my first time in Oz, her third, and I absolutely fell in love with the country. The people, the sights, the atmosphere. It was absolutely everything I thought it would be. Perfect. After coming back to London after our trip, we had our first in depth discussion about moving out there. My first thought being finding sponsorship work would be the the best & cheapest route to Australia, but soon after doing some research on this realized how difficult it is for an overseas teacher to get sponsorship at a school in Australia, especially in primary schools, as teachers are a dime a dozen in Australia. With this now known, discussion turned to me looking into acquiring a 189 visa, which would allow us resident status and the ability to live and work anywhere in Australia up to 5 years, given I had enough points to achieve this. This has a much longer processing time and comes with a cost of a couple thousand Aus dollars but would give us the freedom to settle anywhere we wished and I wouldn't be required to only stay at one school. But again, as a primary school teacher, the chances of me getting this visa are quite low too, even if I applied as a high school teacher which I also have qualifications for (up to Year 9). So with all this known, my thoughts went from thinking maybe getting a 1 year working and holiday visa to go out there to teach in the areas we would be interested in living with hopes of getting sponsored at a school would be the best + quickest + cheapest route. But it comes with it's cons. Mainly having to be apart from each other for a few months, and the following... The more thought and research I have put thought into this, the more I noticed my wife getting upset and stressed out. Now, age 30 and 31 respectively, her idea of moving to Australia has diminished to the point of her not wanting to do it at all and it isn't an option anymore, her opinion being that we are too old for this and it's time to look into settling down, saving money and starting a family. This bombshell hit me like a ton of bricks. It was the first time she admitted to not wanting to do this. She's wanting to look forward and not back and her idea of happiness is to plant roots into the ground in England, and she could not fathom starting a family in Australia, a 24 hour flight away from family and loved ones. Fair enough, bless her, I can relate to this. I feel the same way. And I want this too, to settle down and slow things down. But not yet. And not in England. I've slowly come to realize it's not where I want to spend the rest of our days together. My idea of happiness is following the dream that's been there from the start, to move to Australia, if only for a year or two just to get that 'bug' (if you will) out of our system and go from there. It's always been my dream and light at the end of the tunnel and that hasn't changed. Especially now that I'm incredibly unhappy with my teaching job in London, am feeling burnt out and could really use a change of pace and scenery. I used to think moving to Australia was 'our' dream but now only a month ago I realized that it is only mine. This leads to my being stuck between a rock and a hard place. I turn 31 in 9 days, March 1st, leaving me just 8 days to apply for the Work & Holiday (subclass 462) visa, if that was what we decided to do. Once I turn 31, I can no longer apply for this. And knowing how difficult it might be to get sponsored at a school without ever stepping foot in the door and how difficult it would be to get the 189 resident visa as a primary school teacher, getting a 1 year work & holiday very likely might be our only route to the country. It's a really tough predicament and would require us to be apart for a few months but would lead to us having a few years in Australia. But then again, she doesn't want this anymore. And here I am pondering the thought of getting this visa despite all that, to act on my dream, but there's this huge stop sign in front of me. So how do I approach this? I know from the start how selfish it is of me to think of 'my' dreams above 'our' needs as a couple. It was only a month ago where I was told we didn't share this dream. And now I'm feeling like I've just had my head chopped off and I'm trying to figure how to adjust to accepting I may not ever move to Oz. But I am afraid if I don't act on this opportunity and turn my back on something I've wanted to do for so long, it may be something I always look back on and regret, and may even form a bit of resentment towards my wife because of her sudden change to not wanting to do it. So kind people of pomsinoz, what sort of advice can you give? Please be as constructive as you need to be. I can take it. I just really need some outside opinions on this, whether it be kind or not from people who have been in this situation before or even not. I'm just really in the need of some outside advice on this as it's something I can't get my mind off of and the time is ticking. I truly appreciate your time advance and thank you for reading to the end of this message!

I've not had my skills assessed yet with AITSL. Only in the beginning stages of looking into it all now! How did the Teacher Exchange work for you? Did you have to return to the school you started off with after the exchange was through? Was it for 1-2 years only? A good friend of mine from Sydney's father did this with a school in Canada when my friend was a child and she has nothing but fond memories of the experience. Are you looking to return? If so, through what visa route?

You were very lucky, indeed! Good on ya, really hope you're enjoying it so far! If they're looking for a teacher who's been teaching 6 years in the UK with Kindergarten through Year 9 qualifications to teach all subjects, drop me a message! :biggrin:

Thanks for the detailed information, Del70! The Visa Bureau didn't mention anything about needing an offer of employment before going through with a visa to get work in NT. I see that you're from Wales. Have you been able to find a teaching job in Oz yet? Will keep all posted on my progress (if any)! In the meantime, if any other fellow expat teachers have success stories that they can share with any advice to give, please do so!

Copy/pasting directly from the e-mail I had with the Visa Bureau, in regards to obtaining the Skilled - Nominated (subclass 190) visa:

Hi Freya, I've just come across your thread and seen that you moved to Sydney to teach. First of all, I hope your move went well! Very envious I too am a teacher (6 years, in London) and hoping to move to Sydney for work. If you don't mind my asking, how did you get work out there as a teacher? Are you from a different part of Oz originally or an expat? I'm looking for any bit of advice that can be given that might help my wife and I move out there! I've got more info about our story here: http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/migration-issues/203202-primary-school-teacher-6-years-looking-sponsorship-teach-nsw.html Thanks! JP

Appreciate the responses and suggestions. It all seems like a lot of work, but all worth it. I've been through it all before when moving out to London from the States in 2008. If I were to go the Northern Territory route, how long would I have to live and work there before being considered able to work in other states (such as NSW)?

Thanks for taking the time to respond again, Britpop! I appreciate your feedback. Unfortunately my wife isn't eligible for a second year (she's 31 now). If I were to go the WHV route with her joining me on a tourist visa, we'd both be quitting secure jobs and taking two steps back moneywise which is a very daunting thing to do after age 30 without having a promise of a sponsorship waiting in the end. I agree with you though, being in the country would put me in a better position to find a sponsor. It's just a shame there aren't websites out there listing schools looking for teachers to fill positions who wouldn't mind sponsoring.

To add more info, I've got my four year bachelor's degree specializing in Elementary School teaching (minor in Communication Arts) from DePaul University in Chicago. I've taught all 6 years of my career at the same school here in London. Correcting what I just responded with above, my wife has done only one (not two) WHV, in 2005.

I would apply for the WHV in a heartbeat, but unfortunately my wife has already done two WHV's and wouldn't be able to come with me making this option not too preferable. But just for inquiry-sake, when you say I can activate it once over, do I have one year to activate it meaning I could essentially move to Australia within a year of receiving it and still get 365 days in the country from the day I get there? Or does the time start counting down once the visa is approved?

Hi all- Came across this site and it's great to see a place where others can come together on their (hopeful) journey to Australia! I'm an American primary school teacher with British QTS qualifications who's been living and working out in London for the past 6 years with my wife (a German national). We love living and working out here in the UK but my wife and my dream has always been to move and live in Australia. It's not an easy dream as we both realize how difficult it is to get visas to live out there, especially as primary school teachers are a dime a dozen and my wife is a sales admin team leader, which isn't a job on the highly skilled list. I've come here to find as much information as I can about getting sponsored to teach in Sydney. We just returned from a wonderful 3 week trip down under and met fellow travelers who shared their experiences about getting sponsored to teach at schools in Melbourne and Sydney. I have always been under the impression that it is really hard to get a teacher sponsorship in Australia unless taking on work in the middle of the nowhere, and hearing this from teachers on our travels filled us with hope as it has always been our dream to move to Australia! I am hoping to hear as much information as I can about what it would take to get teaching work out in NSW. Over the last week, I've been in touch with the Visa Bureau and was offered a Skilled - Nominated (subclass 190) visa which would allow my wife and I to live and work with no restrictions in Oz, but unfortunately this would only be offered for us to move to the Northern Territory (or Victoria if I could teach a modern foreign language, which I cannot). I had mentioned to the Visa Bureau that it would be preferred to live in NSW as we have friends and family friends out there and was told that my best option is to try and obtain an employer sponsored 457 visa, which is a temporary visa that allows you to live and work in Australia based on receiving sponsorship from an eligible employer. She then told me the following important information: This is what leads me here! Most teachers looking to find sponsorship go through the Working Holiday or Working and Holiday visa route, which allows them to do casual work at schools around the areas they want to live in Oz and hopefully one of the schools will offer sponsorship after having taught at their school and getting to know you. Unfortunately, as I'm in the middle of the school year teaching right now here in London and turn 31 in about a month's time, this option isn't available for me so I have to heavily depend on finding sponsorship at a school without having stepped foot into their school before. I understand this makes my chances of finding a school to sponsor me very small, but it is worth a try asking for help. If anyone out there has any information about finding sponsorship to teach at a school that could be passed on to me, that would be greatly appreciated! I am sure there are countless other teachers in the same boat as me out there who could benefit from this information as well. Much thanks and kind regards in advance, JP