Australia - Working Holiday visa

Smithy

Smithy

Smithy

Associate
Joined
9 Mar 2006
Posts
1,536
Location
East London
Hi there,

I've recently applied for a Working Holiday visa for Australia. Can anyone advise how long I can expect to wait for the application to be approved?

I plan to spend the majority of the British winter over there. My intentions are to work for my living. I've not been that way of the world before so I'm looking for a bit of advice. I plan to land in the east coast.

Are there any places I should definitely visit or avoid? Anything I should pay particular attention to?

I've done a fair bit of travelling by motorcycle and have learnt that you can often rely on the good intentions on mankind when you're in a sticky situation. This may contradict what the media will portray but it's a lesson learned from experience. Can I expect the same in Australia or should I not adopt the naive tourist attitude?

I'm also interested to hear experiences of others who have done something similar in Australia.

Cheers.
 
You're better off asking here probably.....

http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=54

A lot of people on the forum have been through the application process and can give you specifics. From what I have gathered recently - there has been a massive increase in all types of Aus and NZ Visa applications (particlarly from Ireland - due to the economy, and from the UK - due to many reasons) - not too sure myself how long the working Holiday Visa takes - but bear in mind there may be a wait of a few months for some types.
 
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Thanks. I've found my way on to britishexpats before but never signed up. I'll also check out the pomsinoz forums.
 
A friend applied for a working holiday visa for Oz and got it in a few weeks but as like all government services (oz is just as bad as the uk) its all unpredictable.

I come from South east Queensland and I think there was a count of 1 in 10 people are british expats so thats a popular place for you guys to go. I wouldnt recommend Sydney, it has a nice harbour but beyond that its just another rat race which I'm guessing wouldnt be good for a working holiday. Melbourne is pretty cool has a great night life.

Little advice though, even though we might call you a silly pom it secretly means we like you guys ;)
 
I think my working visa took about 4-5 days to come through. Can take several weeks though.

I recommend staying at Coogee beach in Sydney if you're wanting to work there for a while. It's simply the best place to stay in Sydney and a lot of the english/irish hang out and live there :)

Once you're done with the work malarkey, Start making you way up the east coast to see the sights.

check out www.gapyear.com forums.
 
I applied last night and got my confirmation of acceptance today. Pretty chuffed with that...

I've created an account and thread on pomsinoz so I'm hoping for some advice to come through there.
 
Depends on how much money you leave home with, but farm work out in the sticks can be amazing fun!

I travelled around in my massive 4 litre stationwagon going from farm to beach to farm to beach across 3 states, worth it. Need to go back again to do the bits I missed though, and I was there for 26 months straight!
 
Mine came through immediatly, literally. Well, 5-10 minutes.

It was blatantly an automated system which made the $200 charge even more annoying.

Not as annoying as the fact the plans changed and I never used it for its true purpose, mind.
 
Mine took a few days to come through and so did the new zealand one. Currently 2 months into my NZ working holiday one and have found a job where they are sponsoring my full time visa.

Started off looking at fruit picking jobs, etc but got nowhere. Decided to try the IT sector (which ironically I left the UK to avoid as I'm bored of it!) and found a job within a few days on more money than I was back in the UK.

Not sure if I'm staying yet, but it's been been an adventure.

I've heard Oz has caught a few people out because it's more expensive than they thought it would be. May be worth checking into costs, etc and putting a budget together as heading over without much money means if you don't find a job straight away you may run out faster than you think and have to go home!
 
filozima said:
yes its easy to get visa consult with immigration consultants
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Please go away. You signed up here to spam - look at your signature. You dont need an immigration consultant for this, the AU Government website is clear and easy to use.

Totality said:
I've heard Oz has caught a few people out because it's more expensive than they thought it would be.
Click to expand...

Especially as the exchange rate is terrible right now :(
 
Totality said:
Started off looking at fruit picking jobs, etc but got nowhere. Decided to try the IT sector (which ironically I left the UK to avoid as I'm bored of it!) and found a job within a few days on more money than I was back in the UK.
Click to expand...

Can I ask did you get the IT job before you left the UK?
What difficulty did you find with looking/getting fruit picking jobs?
What methods did you use to job search?
Also did you put much planning into what you would do when you got there or did you pretty much wing it?

(also sorry for all the questions lol )
 
$15 500ml beer and $8 loafs of bread are not uncommon in Sydney. In my experience I would say It's more expensive than London.
 
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