Whitney Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 Hi, I am currently studying A Levels in the UK, England. My boyfriend and I are thinking of moving to Australia in the near future, he is fully Australian and his family live there also. After I have finished my A-levels, this is where my problem starts, I have no idea of any of the methods in which I can train. I am fully English myself so I can imagine this could be quite awkward. I have tried looking into this but I cannot find a lot of information, my plan in the UK was to finish my A-levels, move on to a higher apprenticeship and continue from there until trained and qualified. Is an apprenticeship in Law an option in Australia, NSW? Or do you have to go university? If a junior contract is available, are they easy to find? If not is there any advice on how university would work for me? And how long either of these processes will take? Will becoming a solicitor eventually be an option to me in Australia or is it the end of what I wish to do? Please leave ANY advice you have as I am completely stuck!! Thank you in advance, Whitney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 What visa are you considering applying for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitney Posted April 17, 2018 Author Share Posted April 17, 2018 I'm planning to go over soon for around 6 months only, so then I will be applying for a working holiday visa. After that it depends on my options to whether I need a student visa or a working visa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitney Posted April 17, 2018 Author Share Posted April 17, 2018 18 minutes ago, snifter said: What visa are you considering applying for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy1 Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 (edited) The only visas currently available to you are the whv (working holiday visa) or student visa. To become a lawyer in Australia you will need to attend university. Just so that you are aware, the fees would run into many thousands of pounds for you as an international student. Law is highly competitive to enter and the tuition is higher than some other courses. After completion of the course, there is absolutely no guarantee that you will be able to work here visa wise. However, if by that stage you are still with your boyfriend, you can apply for the partner defacto visa if you meet the eligibility requirements. Edited April 17, 2018 by Sammy1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 (edited) There are no law apprenticeships in Australia unless you already have a law degree, AFAIK. There is NO visa that will let you migrate permanently to Australia at your age, with no qualifications and no experience. If you come to Australia to do a degree, it will cost you thousands and thousands of pounds (you'll pay full international fees). At the end of the course, you still won't be eligible to migrate because you still need to get experience after you get the degree, so you'll have to go back to the UK to get that experience (which might be an issue with an Australian qualification). Your most sensible option would be to enrol for university in the UK and complete your degree while maintaining a long-distance relationship, because it will be a fraction of the cost of studying in Australia. I can understand why you don't want to do that, and you want to be with your boyfriend. So your second-best option would be to apply for your Working Holiday Visa now (it takes only a few days to be approved). That way, you will be able to work and support yourself from day 1. I'm sure you know that if you do some regional work during your first year, you can stay for a second year. That will give you two years to find out whether your relationship is lasting. I know that means delaying your law degree, but a lot of people take a year or two out, and you'll have the advantage of being more mature when you do start studying. If your relationship becomes serious enough to live together, do so and make sure you keep records of when you moved in together, joint activities, etc. That way, you may eventually be able to apply for a de facto partner visa. Edited April 17, 2018 by Marisawright 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitney Posted April 17, 2018 Author Share Posted April 17, 2018 6 minutes ago, Marisawright said: There are no law apprenticeships in Australia unless you already have a law degree, AFAIK. There is NO visa that will let you migrate permanently to Australia at your age, with no qualifications and no experience. If you come to Australia to do a degree, it will cost you thousands and thousands of pounds (you'll pay full international fees). At the end of the course, you still won't be eligible to migrate because you still need to get experience after you get the degree, so you'll have to go back to the UK to get that experience (which might be an issue with an Australian qualification). Your most sensible option would be to enrol for university in the UK and complete your degree while maintaining a long-distance relationship, because it will be a fraction of the cost of studying in Australia. I can understand why you don't want to do that, and you want to be with your boyfriend. So your second-best option would be to apply for your Working Holiday Visa now (it takes only a few days to be approved). That way, you will be able to work and support yourself from day 1. I'm sure you know that if you do some regional work during your first year, you can stay for a second year. That will give you two years to find out whether your relationship is lasting. I know that means delaying your law degree, but a lot of people take a year or two out, and you'll have the advantage of being more mature when you do start studying. If your relationship becomes serious enough to live together, do so and make sure you keep records of when you moved in together, joint activities, etc. That way, you may eventually be able to apply for a de facto partner visa. I currently live with my Australian boyfriend in the UK. We’ve been together for 2 years. So there is no matter of whether the relationship lasts nor any worries of a visa as I can apply eventually for a partner visa and then ongoing to a permanent visa. My main query is with the work, jobs and a career. I want to move ASAP and not start a 3 year course here or it will long out the process even more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy1 Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 (edited) I answered your job query above in a previous comment. If you have thousands to pounds to spend, then yes you can study here as an international student to become a lawyer. We don't have the type of apprenticeship that you talk about, if we did they would only be open to citizens and permanent residents, not 18 year old girlfriends of Australian citizens. Looks like a WHV is the best option for you as you can stay here for two years. You will not be eligible for any type of student loan here until you become a citizen. Edited April 17, 2018 by Sammy1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 (edited) 5 minutes ago, Whitney said: I currently live with my Australian boyfriend in the UK. We’ve been together for 2 years. So there is no matter of whether the relationship lasts nor any worries of a visa as I can apply eventually for a partner visa and then ongoing to a permanent visa. How long have you been living together? It doesn't matter how long you've been dating, it matters how long you've been in a "de facto relationship". That means a relationship that's equivalent to being married. If you've been living together for at least a year, and you can prove it, then you are eligible to apply for a partner visa right now. Once you have your partner visa, you will be a permanent resident of Australia, so I believe you'd be able to enrol in university as a local student. I'm sure someone else will be able to confirm that for you. Edited April 17, 2018 by Marisawright 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 2 minutes ago, Whitney said: I currently live with my Australian boyfriend in the UK. We’ve been together for 2 years. So there is no matter of whether the relationship lasts nor any worries of a visa as I can apply eventually for a partner visa and then ongoing to a permanent visa. My main query is with the work, jobs and a career. I want to move ASAP and not start a 3 year course here or it will long out the process even more! It seems your easiest option is a WHV unless you can afford to study as an international student. On a WHV you would only be allowed to work for one employer for 6 months. You can do regional work for 3 months to be eligible for a 2nd Visa. On a student visa, you are also restricted by the hours that you can work during term time (20 per week) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitney Posted April 17, 2018 Author Share Posted April 17, 2018 3 minutes ago, Sammy1 said: I answered your job query above in a previous comment. If you have thousands to pounds to spend, then yes you can study here as an international student to become a lawyer. We don't have the type of apprenticeship that you talk about, if we did they would only be open to citizens and permanent residents, not 18 year old girlfriends of Australian citizens. Looks like a WHV is the best option for you as you can stay here for two years. You will not be eligible for any type of student loan here. Thanks for the advice. In the UK apprenticeships are a lot different so obviously I wouldn’t know, anyone can get an apprenticeships. I knew I wouldn’t be eligible for any loan. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitney Posted April 17, 2018 Author Share Posted April 17, 2018 8 minutes ago, ali said: It seems your easiest option is a WHV unless you can afford to study as an international student. On a WHV you would only be allowed to work for one employer for 6 months. You can do regional work for 3 months to be eligible for a 2nd Visa. On a student visa, you are also restricted by the hours that you can work during term time (20 per week) Ok thank you for all the information!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitney Posted April 17, 2018 Author Share Posted April 17, 2018 11 minutes ago, Marisawright said: How long have you been living together? It doesn't matter how long you've been dating, it matters how long you've been in a "de facto relationship". That means a relationship that's equivalent to being married. If you've been living together for at least a year, and you can prove it, then you should be able to apply for a partner visa right now. If you apply while you're still in the UK, it gets granted a lot faster than if you wait till you get to Australia. We’ve been living together over a year. Thanks for the advice on applying in the UK, I wasn’t aware of that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 There is no such thing as an apprenticeship to become a lawyer in the UK. There are two routes. LPC or Bar finals. Both are expensive and risky as no gauruntee of ever qualifying. Not though disimilar to Oz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitney Posted April 17, 2018 Author Share Posted April 17, 2018 Just now, VERYSTORMY said: There is no such thing as an apprenticeship to become a lawyer in the UK. There are two routes. LPC or Bar finals. Both are expensive and risky as no gauruntee of ever qualifying. Not though disimilar to Oz. I realise there is no apprenticeship to directly take you straight through to qualified as I mentioned above but there are apprenticeships in which you can take as an alternate option to university, then quite clearly you go beyond that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitney Posted April 17, 2018 Author Share Posted April 17, 2018 5 hours ago, VERYSTORMY said: There is no such thing as an apprenticeship to become a lawyer in the UK. There are two routes. LPC or Bar finals. Both are expensive and risky as no gauruntee of ever qualifying. Not though disimilar to Oz. After a little research I have found that there is actually a direct apprenticeship to take and qualify as a solicitor in the UK. It is a five to six year course post A-Levels! " Thanks to these law apprenticeships school leavers now have a direct route to qualifying as a solicitor without having to go to university." https://www.prospects.ac.uk/jobs-and-work-experience/job-sectors/law-sector/law-apprenticeships Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eera Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 A friend I went to school with has just gone the Cilex route and is now a legal executive, rather than a full solicitor; the difference she said is that she can only deal in a limited number of jurisdictions rather than the full gamut, however, most solicitors specialise too so there's effectively little difference. But no, there isn't an equivalent in Australia, though some universities offer a Juris Doctor post-grad course which you do part time and with work experience in law practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 10 hours ago, Whitney said: We’ve been living together over a year. Thanks for the advice on applying in the UK, I wasn’t aware of that! Actually, the Australian government prefers you to apply for visas while you are still in the UK and therefore they process offshore visas more quickly. I'm not sure how long a partner visa takes, someone else will know. In fact, it's actually illegal to enter on a WHV or a tourist visa with the intention of staying permanently. If you arrived at Australia and told an immigration officer you were planning to stay in Australia permanently, you'd be deported! So if you decide to take that option, remember to pretend you're intending to leave at the end of your temp visa. Then when you apply for your partner visa, you need to pretend that you hadn't intended to stay, but you changed your mind once you arrived. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitney Posted April 18, 2018 Author Share Posted April 18, 2018 5 hours ago, Marisawright said: Actually, the Australian government prefers you to apply for visas while you are still in the UK and therefore they process offshore visas more quickly. I'm not sure how long a partner visa takes, someone else will know. In fact, it's actually illegal to enter on a WHV or a tourist visa with the intention of staying permanently. If you arrived at Australia and told an immigration officer you were planning to stay in Australia permanently, you'd be deported! So if you decide to take that option, remember to pretend you're intending to leave at the end of your temp visa. Then when you apply for your partner visa, you need to pretend that you hadn't intended to stay, but you changed your mind once you arrived. I was aware of this! Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitney Posted April 18, 2018 Author Share Posted April 18, 2018 8 hours ago, Eera said: A friend I went to school with has just gone the Cilex route and is now a legal executive, rather than a full solicitor; the difference she said is that she can only deal in a limited number of jurisdictions rather than the full gamut, however, most solicitors specialise too so there's effectively little difference. But no, there isn't an equivalent in Australia, though some universities offer a Juris Doctor post-grad course which you do part time and with work experience in law practice. Legal executives in the UK are practically solicitor’s assistants- as you said they deal with smaller issues and specialise in one area of law. Their rights of audience is also different to that of a solicitors! Do you know any more about the course? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eera Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 (edited) 45 minutes ago, Whitney said: Legal executives in the UK are practically solicitor’s assistants- as you said they deal with smaller issues and specialise in one area of law. Their rights of audience is also different to that of a solicitors! Do you know any more about the course? Which course, the JD one or the Cilex one? Here's a link to the online JD through ANU, I was seriously thinking about doing it at one point. it is post-grad and for domestic students, but it means you wouldn't have to rush through everything before getting PR https://law.anu.edu.au/study/study-programs/juris-doctor-online Edited April 18, 2018 by Eera Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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