18 and wanting to move to Canberra, Australia for a year/permanently

Hi Chloe, I will try to give you some quick answers--

You can't work in Australia on a Tourist Visa.  If you do come on a Tourist Visa, you are allowed to stay 3 months and you can't overstay and you MUST have money (likely a combination of cash, debit card, credit card, etc) with you to support yourself or some sort of statement/evidence of someone that will support you that can be verified (if the Customs police think you're going to work illegally, they will send you home), as well as a departure date, and a ticket home.  You are definitely allowed to stay with a friend, but you need to have money to support yourself.

Since you can't work in Australia without a visa that allows you to, if you apply for jobs in Australia, your applications/resume will not be considered (maybe possibly ignored) IF you don't have the correct visa that gives you the legal right to work in Australia.  Before you apply for jobs you must have a working visa.

So which visa do you choose?  This is difficult, but simple too--
Look on the immigration website and see which one you can qualify for.  Read the descriptions and look at the applications.  There's no real secrets to this.

With that said, the working holiday visa you mentioned is a good option but it is not permanent.  If you want to move to Australia permanently, I would suggest (given you are 17) you enroll in an Australian university.  If you get a visa to study at uni, you will also be allowed to work part time.

If you live in Australia 4 years on a working visa, and at least one of those 4 years is as a permanent resident, you can apply to become an Australian Citizen.  Or maybe after being here for a few years, you will have enough and be ready to see the rest of the world

Start with these websites--

Australian Dept of Immigration-- to look at the visa types
http://www.immi.gov.au/

University of Canberra-- and the other schools below--  to look at the requirements for int'l students. Schools can help you with your uni visa. Contact them--
University of Canberra--
http://www.canberra.edu.au/

Australian Nat'l University
http://www.anu.edu.au/

Australian Catholic University
http://www.acu.edu.au/

Canberra Institute of Technology
http://www.cit.edu.au/

I hope this helps.  I know people that have attended all of the above schools. They are all in Canberra.

Good luck. While it's not easy, it can be done, but it's not an overnight thing.  Just be sure you want live away from everyone you now know for the rest of your life.

Joe

Hi Joerobson , Welcome to Expat-Blog,

Thank you for your contribution.

Regards,
Yud

Dear chloemae1,

The simplest visa that you can probably apply for is the working holiday visa when you turn 18 years old. Some people that have posted on this forum state it doesn't take that long to be approved. This will allow you to live and work in Australia up to a year. If within this year, you have an employer that is willing to sponsor you for a working visa, they can do this. This will allow you to extend your stay depending on the visa that you are sponsored for.

The student visa is not so simple to get. Please read the information under immi.gov.au for more details about the student visa. It is not only that you need to get accepted into a university you apply to, but you must also meet the financial requirements shown in the immigration website as a minimum financial requirement. The Australian government needs to know that you are able to support yourself. I believe you are only required to work a minimum of 20 hours per week,etc. I have a relative who is in Australia on a student visa.

If you are granted a working holiday visa, I don't think you necessarily have to work if you don't want to. To answer your question, I don't think there is any requirement that you need to purchase a round trip ticket when you enter Australia. You just need to make sure that you leave Australia before your working holiday visa expires. You are free to stay wherever you want to since I have never heard of any restrictions. If you have any questions, call or email the Australian Immigration by visiting their official website at immi.gov.au to get the latest information. At anytime, the Australian government makes changes.

Check out some of the online job websites:  mycareer.com.au or seek.com.au for job postings. It's probably best if you can get some type of work experience there in the UK before you head out to Australia. You will be competing with other candidates that may also have working holiday visas or Australian locals. One question any of these employers or recruiters will do is ask, what is your past job experience. 

Good luck!

Thankyou too all of you! I wasn't thinking of going to University out there but I suppose there is no harm in looking!

I also looked on the website for a working holiday visa and it said that I must have £3000 in my bank account for me to even apply for a visa. I have started saving so hopefully this will be ok! Even though I know I will and have loved Australia, it would be nice to know I can go back to the UK if I wanted too. (I most likely wont, im too independant for my own good)

I will try my best to get work experience in the UK, but in our current climate no-one is willing to take us on - In which case, would I beable to work my way up over there? Maybe start in a bar jobs and hopefully this would give me a bit of experience.

Thankyou all very much. If you have any other tips, then leave them on here, they are VERY helpful!

The Immigration Department has announced a new point test for independent skilled immigration.
http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general- … -new.htm#h

Check it out, and see if you are willing to practice any of the occupations on the SOL http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general- … ations.pdf
Because you will only be able to move here permanently as a skilled immigrant if you nominate one of the occupations, while fulfilling the rest of the criteria, which means, get 65 points in the new test which will commence 1 July 2011.
I would recommend you go to uni in the UK, maybe get a few years of work experience, then migrate here, it will save you lots, and you get basically unrestricted work rights as soon as you arrive here.

I was going to go to uni here until the government unrestricted the fee's here. I really can't afford to go Thats why Australia was another option for me. Maybe if I just go to Oz for a Year to work and come back to the UK and see what happens. I hate this country SO much haha - any opportunity and i'm leaving. I know emigration is strict but does it help that I have lived there before for a year and gone to school etc.? or do they not take that into consideration?

Thankyou very much.

I think my first choice of going to Australia for a year and working in bar jobs and hospitality jobs would work best for me. It would be cheaper to get there and it gives me an opportunity to Travel around a bit. Would you recommend this?

Hi Chloe,

Service and retail jobs are somewhat easy to get here, but to be bar staff or something like a waiter/server, they often only want experienced people. If you make friends easily, you might find, though, that it's not what you know, but who you know and you may find the job you want right away.

If you definitely do want to come to Australia, don't limit yourself to any particular job.  The more you're willing to do, the more opportunities you may find.