Europe - Australia - Working for IT companies.

[dougl4s]

Hi everyone,

 

I am currently living in Germany and recently my contract with my previous company has expired and right now I am unemployed, for that reason I have decided to move to Australia to live and work, I am 28 years old with European passport.

 

Checking on Linkedin I can see there are lot of IT companies looking for Sales people, which is what I have been working for the last 5 years.

 

I have been reading a lot about which visa should I get, is it correct to say I should apply for the following:

 

[h=3]Working Holiday visa (subclass 417)[/h]

[h=3]Temporary Work (Long Stay Activity) visa (subclass 401)[/h]

But I am still not 100% sure if these visas I can legally work for IT Companies, like McAfee, SAP, Symantec and any other company.

 

I would like to stay in Australia from 1 or 2 years minimum.

 

Would someone with more knowledge be able to advise how should I proceed?

 

Thanks in Advance,

 

Regards,

 

Douglas H

[Ozmaniac]

On a 417 Working Holiday visa, you can do any kind of work for any company but you are only allowed to work for up to 6 months with each employer. A Working holiday visa is for 12 months. If you do 88 days of 'specified' rural type work in a regional area during your first 12 months, you become eligible to apply for a second 12 month WHV any time before you turn 31. The definition of 'specified' work covers things like fruit picking and other farm work, construction, mining etc but performing IT activities is not included.

 

A 401 under a reciprocal staff exchange arrangement would only be appropriate if you are sponsored and nominated by an approved sponsor with whom you are already employed.

 

A 457 Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457) could be a possibility if you can find an eligible employer who is willing to sponsor you - the occupation of ICT Sales Representative (ANZSCO code 225213) is an eligible occupation for that visa. Finding sponsorship from overseas will be difficult but if you were to start out on a 12 month WHV, you may be able to find sponsorship for a 457 during that time.

http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/457.aspx 457 visa

[Robert McCann]

Hi Douglas, I've just registered here to reply to this. You seem to be in a similar position to myself before I came to Australia. I have worked in IT for over 10 years in the UK, albeit at L2 service desk support and for the last 5 years within service desk management. Before I came to Australia I saw online that there were lots of jobs that I could apply for based on my experience which is true there is plently of IT work here and that was a large factor in me moving here. I have found it difficult to seek permanent employment due to being on a 417.

 

What I would advise if that if you do arrive in Aus and start applying for jobs focus on applying for contract/temp roles, employers aren't that interested in taking someone on who can only work for them for 6 mnths into a perm position. I have had so many kickbacks from employers who have said "yeah, we are really interested but your visa is an issue"

 

Focus on getting a 3 - 6 mnth contract role and work like hell, hopefully you'll land in a position where they would then like to take you on via sponsorship and as the previous person said, 12 mnths is a good timeframe to find a suitable employer and to get sponsored. At your age as also advised you can go and do the rural work and get a 2nd year extn. Some advice I got too late was to do the 88 days of work when you 1st get here, you then will have 1 year and 9 mnths to find a sponsor.

 

I know all of this seems pretty obvious but I spent the 1st mnth applying for jobs I was sure I would get only to be kicked back due to my 417 visa, as soon as I focused on contract/temp roles I got a job in 7-10 days.

 

But you can work for any 1 employer for a max of 6 mnths.

 

Hope this is useful! Thanks

[dougl4s]

On a 417 Working Holiday visa, you can do any kind of work for any company but you are only allowed to work for up to 6 months with each employer. A Working holiday visa is for 12 months. If you do 88 days of 'specified' rural type work in a regional area during your first 12 months, you become eligible to apply for a second 12 month WHV any time before you turn 31. The definition of 'specified' work covers things like fruit picking and other farm work, construction, mining etc but performing IT activities is not included.

 

A 401 under a reciprocal staff exchange arrangement would only be appropriate if you are sponsored and nominated by an approved sponsor with whom you are already employed.

 

A 457 Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457) could be a possibility if you can find an eligible employer who is willing to sponsor you - the occupation of ICT Sales Representative (ANZSCO code 225213) is an eligible occupation for that visa. Finding sponsorship from overseas will be difficult but if you were to start out on a 12 month WHV, you may be able to find sponsorship for a 457 during that time.

http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/457.aspx 457 visa

 

Hi there,

 

Thank you very much for the explanation, it really helped me. I think I will go ahead and will apply to the 417 visa.

 

on the page http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/417.aspx I see is possible to apply online, which is awesome.

 

 

 

Hi Douglas, I've just registered here to reply to this. You seem to be in a similar position to myself before I came to Australia. I have worked in IT for over 10 years in the UK, albeit at L2 service desk support and for the last 5 years within service desk management. Before I came to Australia I saw online that there were lots of jobs that I could apply for based on my experience which is true there is plently of IT work here and that was a large factor in me moving here. I have found it difficult to seek permanent employment due to being on a 417.

 

What I would advise if that if you do arrive in Aus and start applying for jobs focus on applying for contract/temp roles, employers aren't that interested in taking someone on who can only work for them for 6 mnths into a perm position. I have had so many kickbacks from employers who have said "yeah, we are really interested but your visa is an issue"

 

Focus on getting a 3 - 6 mnth contract role and work like hell, hopefully you'll land in a position where they would then like to take you on via sponsorship and as the previous person said, 12 mnths is a good timeframe to find a suitable employer and to get sponsored. At your age as also advised you can go and do the rural work and get a 2nd year extn. Some advice I got too late was to do the 88 days of work when you 1st get here, you then will have 1 year and 9 mnths to find a sponsor.

 

I know all of this seems pretty obvious but I spent the 1st mnth applying for jobs I was sure I would get only to be kicked back due to my 417 visa, as soon as I focused on contract/temp roles I got a job in 7-10 days.

 

But you can work for any 1 employer for a max of 6 mnths.

 

Hope this is useful! Thanks

 

Hi Robert, Thank you registering just to reply my post. Regarding finding a job being able to only work for 6 months was going to be my next question actually. I also find it very hard to believe multinational companies would hire me only for 6 months. On this 3 - 6 contract roles, the salary should be enough to have a normal live, going out a few times, doing small trips when possible... correct?

 

This is actually good tips, especially regarding applying for the jobs which I would get normally but being kicked back cause of the visa, I was going to make this mistake for sure.

 

Just to see if I understood correctly, would be better to start working on rural job as soon as I arrive for 3 months, then start looking for 3 -6 month contract job and, work hard as hell, apply for the 2nd year extension, and try to get a company to sponsor me so I could work for longer than 6 months?

 

Thank you both again for the quick answers, I really appreciate it, you made my day

 

Best regards,

 

Douglas H

[Robert McCann]

{duplicate post}

[Robert McCann]

Hi, sure on a contract role you should be able to earn enough to live well. In my experience a service desk/helpdesk/desktop support role will start paying around $24/$25 per hour which after tax comes to around $850 per week on a 40 hour week.

 

Depending on how long you want to stay in Aus for it could be a good plan to do the rural work when you first get here, at least then it is dealt with and you will be sure that you are going to be in Aus for 2 full years. You can only work for an employer for 6 months when on a 417 visa even if you have the 2nd year extension but at least you will have a greater chance of finding a company that will sponsor you in 2 years rather than just 1 year. My wife and I are planning on doing the 3 months rural work but it will mean giving up our flat and furniture and starting again where as if we had done it when we first got here we could be sure we would be settled once we had a place.

 

If you become sponsored then yes you can continue working for the company for more than 6 months.

 

Another thing to be aware of is when renting a place here there are not many furnished places to rent, the majority of places are unfurnished so you need to plan to furnish your flat/house with most items - washing machine, fridge, beds etc. You can get things cheaply off ebay and gumtree but I wasn't expecting it when I came here.

[dougl4s]

Hi, sure on a contract role you should be able to earn enough to live well. In my experience a service desk/helpdesk/desktop support role will start paying around $24/$25 per hour which after tax comes to around $850 per week on a 40 hour week.

 

Depending on how long you want to stay in Aus for it could be a good plan to do the rural work when you first get here, at least then it is dealt with and you will be sure that you are going to be in Aus for 2 full years. You can only work for an employer for 6 months when on a 417 visa even if you have the 2nd year extension but at least you will have a greater chance of finding a company that will sponsor you in 2 years rather than just 1 year. My wife and I are planning on doing the 3 months rural work but it will mean giving up our flat and furniture and starting again where as if we had done it when we first got here we could be sure we would be settled once we had a place.

 

If you become sponsored then yes you can continue working for the company for more than 6 months.

 

Another thing to be aware of is when renting a place here there are not many furnished places to rent, the majority of places are unfurnished so you need to plan to furnish your flat/house with most items - washing machine, fridge, beds etc. You can get things cheaply off ebay and gumtree but I wasn't expecting it when I came here.

 

 

Hi Robert,

 

Thank you once again for all the help.

 

As I am single i would probably move into a shared apartment, here in Germany we have the same problem with the furniture, it can be very annoying and expensive.

 

Does it make any difference applying for the visa online or in person at the Australian Embassy here in Germany? I am guessing it makes no difference at all.

 

Thanks again for tips.

 

Douglas H.

[Ozmaniac]

Hi Robert,

 

Thank you once again for all the help.

 

As I am single i would probably move into a shared apartment, here in Germany we have the same problem with the furniture, it can be very annoying and expensive.

 

Does it make any difference applying for the visa online or in person at the Australian Embassy here in Germany? I am guessing it makes no difference at all.

 

Thanks again for tips.

 

Douglas H.

 

Apply online. It costs more (an additional AUD$80) to lodge a paper application and there is no benefit whatsoever in doing so. Most 417s that are applied for online are granted within hours.