Stuart Edwards

Thanks for your reply guys! Do you know what visa would my girlfriend be on if I was on the student visa? VeryStormy - Have you been on a student visa or studied? It would be good to hear a bit of insight into it all Regarding the courses, I realise they are fulltime, but several people I know have only had to attend 1-2 days a week. Any thoughts on this? Thank you very much everyone!

Hi all! I'd been tearing my hair out trying to find answers to my conundrum! I hope there's someone out there that can help! Right - My girlfriend and I are both Brits on 417 WHV. We're both working full-time and would love to carry on our lives here in this beautiful country! Our visas expire in August and we're heading back to the UK for a visit. I'd like to come back on a student visa, preferably part-time and carry on working where I am now for 20hrs per week. - Are international student courses/visas hard to to land and set up? Are there reputable courses that don't cost the earth?! - If I was on a student visa, could my girlfriend apply for partner defacto visa? - Could she study full-time if she was on a defacto visa? But not pay international student fees? It would be great to hear some stories of people who have had similar experiences! We're both skilled and committed, but our background/experience is lacking so skilled migrant/sponsorship visas opportunities are limited... Cheers everyone! Stu & Eloise x

Hey guys - Thanks for your responses. @blossom79 - I've read about this training budget, that's probably a no-go. I wonder what the minimum requirements are for that.. Also I haven't checked the skills assessment - Do you know off the top of your head what is involved? Exam? References? So you recommend I see an agent before I speak to the boss? @Tickled Pink - How would the emplyer demonstrate they have 2 years to run? Another biggy is I don't have a contract with them.. What I was hoping to propose was that they employed me and put me on a contract. The 1% staff training payment, can you remember what your employer said they'd do to honour that? Thanks again! It's really helpful. Cheers! Stu

Hello fellow Poms in OZ! I've found some great info on here and I'm totally hooked, great to see so many people helping each other out. I've got a couple of questions regarding the 186 Employer Nomination Scheme route to sponsorship. I'm currently on a working holiday visa (417) and freelancing for a company, and basically I'd like to propose to my employer that he sponsor me. It's a small company of just 4 including myself. I have an ABN - so I just invoice him, and I deal with tax and super etc. Now, here's the issue. I need to propose to him that it's worthwhile keeping me on. I can for-see that he will find the whole application a pain in the ass. I'm happy to pay whatever costs are involved applying for the visa. He's been operating for over a year. - Will there be an issue with the fact I haven't been on the 'payrole' as I'm effectively a contractor? - Is there a significant cost in employing someone 'through the books'? Obviously there's super payments, holiday etc to factor in.. - I feel the market salery rate might be higher than he's currently paying me - a potential negative for the boss. Any tips here? Visa Prices: From what I understand I'd need to go the Direct Entry stream route - again, immi.gov states the employers fee for applying is $540 From the immi.gov site, the cost calculator estimated the visa application would cost AUD 5,280.00. Does that sound about right? Would you guys recommend a visa agent? I assume they're expert at smoothing out potential cracks in visa applications... Any idea on costs and pitfalls? I'm Sydney based. Thank you so much. I hope there's someone that can help! Cheers, Stuart Edwards