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Moving to oz on a student visa


Lparker15

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Hi, so I was wondering if anyone on here had gone out to oz on a student visa with children. I am aware of the expenses involved and there would be myself, hubby and 6 year old daughter. Wanted to hear people’s experience. I know you can only work 20 hours per week but full time during the holiday periods and I am just wondering if it is possible to survive doing this? I am looking at completing my degree in oz so I would be studying for 2 and a half years and could then apply for pr 

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25 minutes ago, Lparker15 said:

Hi, so I was wondering if anyone on here had gone out to oz on a student visa with children... I am looking at completing my degree in oz so I would be studying for 2 and a half years and could then apply for pr 

The obvious question is, if you're eligible to apply for PR, why aren't you applying now?

If you are not eligible to apply for PR now, then you may not be eligible to apply at the end of your degree, either.  They require experience as well as the degree and usually, they only count years of experience AFTER you have your degree, not before.  I'd recommend checking that out before you take the plunge.

Have you looked into what work rights your husband would have, if any?  

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27 minutes ago, Lparker15 said:

Hi, so I was wondering if anyone on here had gone out to oz on a student visa with children. I am aware of the expenses involved and there would be myself, hubby and 6 year old daughter. Wanted to hear people’s experience. I know you can only work 20 hours per week but full time during the holiday periods and I am just wondering if it is possible to survive doing this? I am looking at completing my degree in oz so I would be studying for 2 and a half years and could then apply for pr 

Being an overseas student in Australia is very expensive, especially if you have a family. I am sure other will share their personal experience.

You are making a big assumption that you will be able to qualify for Permanent Residency at the completion of your studies. Even if you would qualify under current rules, it is unlikely that things will not change in the next 2 to 3 years. 

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7 minutes ago, Lparker15 said:

Yes I have looked into this and once the Degree is completed I will be able to apply for PR as Early Years Teacher no experience required (that’s if it stays on the list) my husband will have the same work rights as me 20 hours per week and full time in the holidays 

Where are you planning to study in Australia?  Bear in mind the cost of living is high here especially in the likes of Sydney.  Hope you have plenty of cash to tide you over whilst studying.

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I did exactly what you are thinking about. I went to Australia for 2 years with 3 children on a student visa. My husband continued his job at home and flew out to visit every couple of months.

It is very expensive as you have to pay the school system to educate your children, because you are not a citizen of Australia basic education cost are not covered. It was very expensive somewhere around $ 20,0000.00-$ 30,0000.00 for 3 children in elementary school in NSW. Then on top of that you have your university fees which are double that of some of the Australian citizens.

I did it as my husband was self employed and was making a lot of money at the time.

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17 minutes ago, Lparker15 said:

my husband will have the same work rights as me 20 hours per week and full time in the holidays 

Secondary applicants do not have the same work rights. They are limited to 20 hours per week all the time, including holidays. The exception is if you are studying a master's by coursework or research degree or a doctorate .

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How rich are you? If you are talking about “surviving” then probably not. As has been mentioned, on top of your (very expensive) university fees, you I’ll be paying $10-12k each year for your daughter’s school fees. And you will get no benefits for child care etc. Watch out for medical coverage as well - the reciprocal agreement doesn’t cover every medical contingency, just the “necessary” events.

A couple of other assumptions you are making may falter as well - you think you can complete your degree in 2.5 years. There isn’t always a straightforward transfer of course credits so to get your 4 years (necessary in Australia for teachers) although you may already have done 1.5 years in U.K. you might find that you need 3 or more years of Aus units.

Then you assume that both you and your husband will be able to find meaningful work - 20 hpw isn’t going to bring much in IF you can find a job in the first place. An older part timer on a temporary visa isn’t going to be a very attractive proposition to employers. They’re ok with kids who come and go and that suits the students who are happy to come and go but they’re not trying to support a family with some stability.

Finally, you make the assumption that at the end of it all you’ll be able to apply for PR - as a student, the expectation is that you’ll study then go home, not hang around. You might not be able to apply for PR at the end of it and you’ll have beggared yourself in the process.

Far better to knuckle down and finish your course in U.K. then see if PR is available then.  If you are a millionaire with unlimited funds then do what you like.

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I am quite aware of how long i need to study for to complete my degree, the cost of school and medical fees, the type of work we can get for part time hours. I’ve done my research. I was more looking for people’s personal experience who may have done it and been there as a student. 

Thanks for the info Jenki75 really helpful. For the degree I’m doing the school fee will be 5000aud per year so not too bad. Did you work part time too? If so how did you find it fitting in with your study and children? 

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My son then age 31 came here 13 years ago as a student. He was single. 

He never found getting 20 hrs work a problem, his age was in his favour as deemed more responsible than younger students. He worked weekends and evenings and could I think work full time in the holidays while studying for his degree and full time on his MBA, but during term time there was too much study to work full time.

That was the good news. 

 But!!! As soon as he applied for PR the government changed the rules retrospectively,  it took a further 3 years to get it, he was one of the few lucky ones, he had studied through to an MBA which might have helped, many many International students waited longer and had to leave. He did luckily manage to get a good job while on his 3 year bridging visa, so he could afford to stay.

It's a very expensive route to possible PR.

Edited by ramot
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And if the occupation is removed from the list in the mean time? Over 200 occupations were removed last year. I suspect more major culls in the near future. At the same time, while there is a shortage for early years teachers, there is a major surplus of primary teachers. It doesn't take a lot of thought to see where that may go.

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1 hour ago, ramot said:

My son then age 31 came here 13 years ago as a student. He was single. 

He never found getting 20 hrs work a problem

That was 13 years ago, though. I'd love to find work for 20 hours a week and have found it very difficult to achieve, except in menial work (which of course has lower wages).

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2 hours ago, Lparker15 said:

Thanks for the info Jenki75 really helpful. For the degree I’m doing the school fee will be 5000aud per year so not too bad. Did you work part time too? If so how did you find it fitting in with your study and children? 

Jenki was referring to the cost of your children's school fees, not your school fees. 

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16 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Jenki was referring to the cost of your children's school fees, not your school fees. 

 

16 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Jenki was referring to the cost of your children's school fees, not your school fees. 

Yes I know they were referring to children’s school fees so was I. Unfortunately my student fees are a lot more than 5000 aud 

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Hi Lparker.

I have two sets off friends who went down this route, both sets had the rules change literally 1/2 weeks before they finished there courses. One was lucky and the wifes company sponsored them, they have finally got PR after 8 yrs and over $100,000 dollars getting it. The second did everything they could and after 5/6 yrs and with nothing left, spent all there house money to live, they had to go home.  After watching how stressful it was for them, i wouldn't do it with kids, especially how expensive doctors, education and just general living now.

Regarding the school fees, my friends paid $13.000 a year, each child. 

I wish you all the luck, but i couldn't survive on 20 hrs a week work.

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Hi, thanks really interesting read. My friend has recently gone out too on the student visa with children, doing the same degree as me. I totally understand it’s a massive risk it’s whether we take that risk or not. The uni sets you up with paid employment for the 2 days your not at uni so quite confident I can get the 20 hours per week. 

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22 minutes ago, Lparker15 said:

Hi, thanks really interesting read. My friend has recently gone out too on the student visa with children, doing the same degree as me. I totally understand it’s a massive risk it’s whether we take that risk or not. The uni sets you up with paid employment for the 2 days your not at uni so quite confident I can get the 20 hours per week. 

It seems to me there is one risk with your plan, and one certainty.  The risk is that after all your sacrifices, you'll have to come back to the UK.  The certainty is that you're going to spend your life savings, and probably go into massive debt - because on 20 hours per week each, you couldn't possibly cover the living expenses for a family in Australia.  As Jenki pointed out, they only survived it because her husband was working in a highly-paid full-time job back in the UK. 

Don't get me wrong, I like living in Australia, but I struggle to understand why you'd make such enormous sacrifices to move here.  It's neither better nor worse than the UK.  It's just a different country with a different lifestyle, and like any other country it has its pro's and con's.   

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It will be NSW, my friend is currently living in the Hills District as it’s more affordable housing wise. She only started the course in January and has found it no problem getting work for the 20 hours in centres as there crying out for educators, they are even offering full time hours in the holidays which is reassuring 

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13 minutes ago, Lparker15 said:

It will be NSW, my friend is currently living in the Hills District as it’s more affordable housing wise. She only started the course in January and has found it no problem getting work for the 20 hours in centres as there crying out for educators, they are even offering full time hours in the holidays which is reassuring 

Good luck to you.  We have given you all the pitfalls so at least you know what you are letting yourself and your family in for.  Hope it all works out for you but I think you'll find that it won't be easy at all.

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2 hours ago, Marisawright said:

That was 13 years ago, though. I'd love to find work for 20 hours a week and have found it very difficult to achieve, except in menial work (which of course has lower wages).

You might not have liked his jobs though!? He worked in Aussie World running the rides and then in a local petrol service station weekends and public holidays. 

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27 minutes ago, Nemesis said:

How do you manage to get them so cheap? Its usually $10,000 upwards, per child.

If you do the course with TAFE in Sydney they subsidise the school fees to 5000aud per year, if you did the same course in QLD you would be paying 12,000aud. TAFE also have a really good deal with Medibank so offer cheaper medical insurance

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