Tips on travelling to Oz??

G86

Hi!

Myself and my boyf have finally made a defo decision on Oz and we are heading next year on a working holiday visa. I've seen a few sites offering packages where they organise your visa,accommadation on arrival,job list etc. Has anyone any exp with this?

Also wondering how hard it is to get a job over there? Any tips or exp anyone has would be great as neither of us have done any real travelling before

Really excited about it though:D

The Sweeper

G86

The australians have some of the most incredibly organised online resources for visa applications - free of charge - in the world. (I know, I just got my australian visa, so this is from experience).

I would be VERY wary of organisations who offer to organise all applications for you - I can't help but think they do work that you could do yourself with a little research, then charge you for it and you might not even get a satisfactory result out of them.

immi.gov.au has masses of visa related information regarding your working holiday visa. I warn you in advance, the paperwork generation involved in a visa applciation is a pain in the ass, so you need to be a bit organised. It's not difficult, it's just fiddly and time consuming. Download or print the booklet that refers to your particular visa and go through it with a highlighter when you're not busy.

If you think about it - apply for visa, get visa, book flights and book accommodation yourself for one week in a hostel near where you're landing and start job hunting when you get there - it's really not much more difficult than that - though yes, it is daunting.

A close friend of mine has been in Queensland for the last seven years, and she said to me about five years ago that she reckoned a lot of work-visa Irish had marked our cards for the rest of us by taking contracts and just pissing off half way through them to travel. She was finding it difficult getting a long-term, 'serious' job. I'm not sure how much that still applies, but I do know casual work - bars, cafes - is pretty easy to get.

Chances are as well that you'll want to see all the major centres - Darwin, Queensland, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth - so you may not want something long term and serious.

The bottom line is tehre's a lot of internet resource for this kind of travel - trust the official pages, steer clear of the people who want money from you!

G86

Cheers for the info:D

I guess I'm a bit naive about the while visa thing..I thought it'd be pretty simple,alot of sites say you can apply online..how do you do that if you need loads of paperwork?!! What kind of paperwork?

Chinafoot

With regard to finding work, I was told before heading over for a year that finding work in certain areas at certain times of year can be difficult. For example, November/December in Sydney can be difficult for work in bars/cafes etc., because the city is full of backpackers who want Christmas on Bondi (didn't do it myself but heard it's not great) and New Years eve down near the harbour.

I had no problem finding work in Melbourne at this time of year.

If you're staying in a hostel they will more than likely be able to provide you with contact details for employment agencies that deal regularly with backpackers.

If I could go back and do the year over again I would get a fair amount of travelling and sight-seeing done in the first few months while I still had a decent amount of money. It is so easy to fall in love with a place and want to stay there, as happened to me in Melbourne.

I'd also recommend buying a camper van/car and seeing Australia that way. Four of us bought a van (I think it was a hi-ace) and went from melbourne to Adelaide, right up the middle to Alice Springs, over the Ayres Rock, up and across to Townsville and all down the East Coast back to Sydney. It was an amzing trip!

Never got to head West but hopefully someday.

The Sweeper

In order to travel to Australia, you need an ETA - Electronic Travel Authority. That lets you visit the country on holidays - but not work. The visa is valid for one year from date of issue, but you can't have any one single stay that exceeds three months within that year. That's the visa you can get online.

The year long work visa requires a number of different kinds of paperwork, and again, go to immi.gov.au to find out what!

G86

Na are you sure? Because I emailed visafirst and they told me I just need a electronic visa that I can get online?!. I told them it would be a working holiday for a year.

G86

just checked the site an is says i can apply online and only need a electronic visa for a working holiday. happy days:D

The Sweeper

...where does it say that on the immi.gov.au site?

Let me edit this post to reflect why I ask:

http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/working-holiday/417/eligibility-first.htm

That's the linkie for what you need for a working holiday. Maybe you can submit that applciation online, but you need character checks (a letter from your police dept to say you're not a criminal) and potential health checks to fulfill the application, hence I don't see how you can do it online...

Seriously - I've got my visa. It's not a work visa, but it's a similar process. A friend of mine got her work visa last September. I remember what she did to get it. It wasn't a simple online application. She completed forms, got references, got her police checks and health checks and submitted her application by registered post. It took six weeks to come through. That's pretty straightforward as visas go, but I don't understand where you saw "online application for working visa" on the immi.gov.au site?

[EDIT AGAIN]

I see where you got it now - did you click straight to 'how do I apply', and skip all the bits about 'what I need before I apply'?

[/EDIT AGAIN]

G86

Im a tad confused by what your saying to be honest!!

It says you MAY need criminal checks etc, not that they are necessary. And the health checks like x-rays etc are only if you have a specified illness.thats as far as I can see?

G86

so you defo need all that before hand? see the email i recieved from visafirst said nowt about that!!! So how does a person go about getting a police check? What all do you need for it?

Thanks for your help!

G86

ah checked the garda website there..seems simple enough. Sorry for the stupid q's!!

cheers

The Sweeper

okay let me start at the beginning

I applied for a spouse visa, so it wasn't the same as the one you were applying for, but it also had things about health checks and police clearances.

I was told by someone at my local consulate that, if I wanted my visa to come through quickly, I should complete an application that INCLUDED all the things I 'might' be asked for.

So I did.

The processing time for my visa was 6 weeks.

I got my visa in 36 hours.

I know this is still confusing for you, but keep reading the stuff you come across and start making notes. You'll soon see that the sites who offer to do it all for you for a fee actually can't do the work for you - all they can do is direct you to what your next step is and you do the work yourself. In otherwords, you're paying them for what you can read up on in your own time.

G86

Ok,thanks a million for your help:)

hanton12

Another suggestion, as I'm only back from a 2 year round world trip that had Oz for a year, there is a visa office in Temple Bar that does the working holiday visa and includes insurance. Was by far the cheapest insurance quote we got, and included the visa without any hassle. They were very helpful too.
You do not need garda check.
You do not need health check (altho if you are coming from certain parts of Asia or South America you do need to prove yellow fever and other vaccinations)

Set up your bank account with commonwealth or ANZ yourself when you get there (these 2 are the most common banks throughout Oz, are predominant on both coasts). Get a vodafone simcard for either $2 with no credit or $30 with $30 credit. The $49 pack is a good value bundle to get monthly after that if you use the phone a lot. Book into a hostel for a week and look for accomodation and a job. And aim not to stay in a city for more than 3 months. Definatly do the west coast (preferably with your own transport). Its far more relaxed and way way cheaper than east coast. Dont go there and say you'll go back another time, it never happens. Do tasmania. Its a forgotten part of Australia and is a great place.

IMO Sydney is overhyped and full of token Irish living in Bondi doing the same thing drinking in the same pubs and work is hard enough to get there. Had my fill of it after a few weeks, far nicer places in Australia to visit. Perth and Brisbane have plenty of work available and dont have the token Irish element to it, but that depends on what you want anyway. 12 months is more than enough to see the whole country and work at the same time.

The Sweeper

hanton12 wrote:

Another suggestion, as I'm only back from a 2 year round world trip that had Oz for a year, there is a visa office in Temple Bar that does the working holiday visa and includes insurance. Was by far the cheapest insurance quote we got, and included the visa without any hassle. They were very helpful too.
You do not need garda check.
You do not need health check (altho if you are coming from certain parts of Asia or South America you do need to prove yellow fever and other vaccinations)

Okay, with all due respect, you did your applications over two years ago and I think the intervening heightened terrorist security shenanigans is really affecting the health check/garda check stuff, so you just can't say for definite that you don't need them.

I think the best advice is place your application without them but be aware that the garda check can take months to come through depending where you live, and how organised your local gardai are, and it doesn't actually cost anything to get the garda check - plus it's valid for a year from date of issue.

G86

argh..now im confused again!!! :L ah i guess the best thing to do is to get a garda check a few months in advance just in case so I can send it if needed.

Hanely thanks for the advice on travel, don't think we'll have our own travel..I'm just getting started with my provisional at the mo,not sure if I'll have my full license by then.

hanton12

Minesajackdaniels wrote:

Okay, with all due respect, you did your applications over two years ago and I think the intervening heightened terrorist security shenanigans is really affecting the health check/garda check stuff, so you just can't say for definite that you don't need them.

I think the best advice is place your application without them but be aware that the garda check can take months to come through depending where you live, and how organised your local gardai are, and it doesn't actually cost anything to get the garda check - plus it's valid for a year from date of issue.

My cousin is out there at the moment since October, so unless anything has come in since then you dont need a garda check, and I've never heard of anyone on a working holiday visa needing one.

Like I said, try this place. It was by far the cheapest insurance (about €300 I think for the year) and it included the visa which they had arranged in 24 hours. No messing around. No awkward forms. Just go in, fill out one form with them and they do the rest. Tax number gets set up when you go to Australia then.

http://www.visas-australia.com/visas/workingholiday.asp

Its not a complicated proceedure to get this done.

Just saw the insurance deal they are offering, €375 for 12 months and you can pay a little extra (was about €40 I think) to get it fully comprehensive (ie payout straight away of all cost should you need to claim.) They'll explain it to you if you talk to them. Before I went I shopped around as I was going to be gone for so long and wanted insurance, between their insurance and doing the visa without any hassle at all, it was well worth it. (didnt need to claim anything on insurance, but still good to have it)

G86

thanks hanton - sorry don't know where 'hanley' came from!

I kinda thought it would be simple enough to do as the guy I chatted to online in visafirst said I just needed my passport to apply. I'll head into that place in templebar and see what they say,

Cheers for the info:)

thekooman

i was travelling for a year and got VHI Global healthcare insurance. might be something to think about but if you go to the states it will cost you a lot more. thankfully i never had to use it.

Construction labour is the best paid (for lads anyways!), 4 years ago i used to get about 600 euro + a week. living is cheap. found it hard to get a job at the beginning, take anything until you get something better. if you boyf is a gaelic player he would get work tomorrow if he played football/hurling! I ended up doing that when i couldn't get work in Melbourne.
heard that child minding is also an easy way of making money for the girls but there may be some red tape involved in that.
having a qualification in something doesn't matter; electricians can't work there, physios have to sit an exam, etc..... plus the 3 month work limitation thing doesn't interest most firms. chippies are able to find work the easiest!
jobs can be found on www.mycareer.com.au, www.seek.com.au, www.monster.com.au.

i did the token paddy thing and lived in bondi. got really sick of it. moved to Paddington(in sydney!) along Oxford St and had a ball. it was still within distance of bondi but was also closer to the city.

melbourne is also cool but make sure u pick a nice time to go cos the summers can be roasting and the winters can get cold.

as everyone else says, hire a camper (40 euro/day, well it used to be!) and travel for as long as possible! its the best craic!

BTW, New Zealand is much better than Oz!

hanton12

thekooman wrote:

i was travelling for a year and got VHI Global healthcare insurance. might be something to think about but if you go to the states it will cost you a lot more. thankfully i never had to use it.

Construction labour is the best paid (for lads anyways!), 4 years ago i used to get about 600 euro + a week. living is cheap. found it hard to get a job at the beginning, take anything until you get something better. if you boyf is a gaelic player he would get work tomorrow if he played football/hurling! I ended up doing that when i couldn't get work in Melbourne.
heard that child minding is also an easy way of making money for the girls but there may be some red tape involved in that.
having a qualification in something doesn't matter; electricians can't work there, physios have to sit an exam, etc..... plus the 3 month work limitation thing doesn't interest most firms. chippies are able to find work the easiest!
jobs can be found on www.mycareer.com.au, www.seek.com.au, www.monster.com.au.

i did the token paddy thing and lived in bondi. got really sick of it. moved to Paddington(in sydney!) along Oxford St and had a ball. it was still within distance of bondi but was also closer to the city.

melbourne is also cool but make sure u pick a nice time to go cos the summers can be roasting and the winters can get cold.

as everyone else says, hire a camper (40 euro/day, well it used to be!) and travel for as long as possible! its the best craic!

BTW, New Zealand is much better than Oz!

qualifications do matter, I worked for over 8 months in Perth Darwin and Melbourne as a Quantity Surveyor and was making as much and more than I was in Ireland. Paid really well. I sent an email to a couple of places in Perth and told them the story, only 3 months work, but had 5 interviews within 24 hours there was such a demand. Stayed with the company throughout Oz then, they flew me to Darwin for 8 weeks which was cool and it landed a pay rise for doing them a favour. 3 lads I knew in Perth (one English, 2 Irish) worked as Electricians for 4 months there. The 3 month limitation is extended to 6 months now too. GAA teams can be very helpful to get work alright.

The Sweeper

hanton12 wrote:

My cousin is out there at the moment since October, so unless anything has come in since then you dont need a garda check, and I've never heard of anyone on a working holiday visa needing one.

The working holiday visa, subclass 417, which is for people between the ages of 18 and 30 years old interested in a working holiday of up to 12 months in Australia - the one which allows you to supplement the cost of your holiday through incidental employment, not the one for skilled workers - can be lodged online, and I'm going to refer you to the original link again:

http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/work...lity-first.htm

which clearly states that you may need health checks and character requirements.

That's all I'm saying. You can't say to me 100% that someone definitely won't need something when the government's own website says they might.

Apart from that, I have a question on your insurance - what did you get insured against for €300?? Is it just travel insurance, or is there a specific sort of working-holiday insurance for a year's trip that covers things that travel insurance wouldn't cover?

WhiteWashMan

G86 wrote:

Hi!

Myself and my boyf have finally made a defo decision on Oz and we are heading next year on a working holiday visa. I've seen a few sites offering packages where they organise your visa,accommadation on arrival,job list etc. Has anyone any exp with this?

Also wondering how hard it is to get a job over there? Any tips or exp anyone has would be great as neither of us have done any real travelling before

Really excited about it though:D

to be honest, id suggest you do all of the reading and the researching yourself.
ive gone thorugh several bouts of red tape with the aussie authorities recently,and they are very efficient once you have everything in order.

if you dont know what you need, then you need to go and find out. there are several different visas with each one requires different stuff. figure out which one you are going for and then find out what you need.

with regards to the companies that sort out your visa and employment, if it was as easy as you suggest on this thread, then everyone would be doing it themselves.
again, i suggest you figure out what visa you want, and then figure out what you need. no on e else can do that for you.

hanton12

Minesajackdaniels wrote:

The working holiday visa, subclass 417, which is for people between the ages of 18 and 30 years old interested in a working holiday of up to 12 months in Australia - the one which allows you to supplement the cost of your holiday through incidental employment, not the one for skilled workers - can be lodged online, and I'm going to refer you to the original link again:

http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/work...lity-first.htm

which clearly states that you may need health checks and character requirements.

That's all I'm saying. You can't say to me 100% that someone definitely won't need something when the government's own website says they might.

Apart from that, I have a question on your insurance - what did you get insured against for €300?? Is it just travel insurance, or is there a specific sort of working-holiday insurance for a year's trip that covers things that travel insurance wouldn't cover?

Thats fair enough about the checks that might be needed, but I have never heard of them being enforced. Anyone I know applied with just a passport and got them within a couple of days. Suppose its just something they have to cover themselves legally, but not really enforced. It was never mentioned to me when I was applying, and the girl who started the thread also said it wasnt mentioned to her when she enquired about the visa. No point in creating a lot of hassle when its a simple proceedure, and it really is.

The insurance (which was proabably around €400 overall, cant really remember) covered all accidents and travel. It seemed really good value anyway. There was a premium thing to add extra which was offered to us, which basically meant you would get all payments as soon as you were in hospital or lost luggage etc. Without it there was some conditions like it would only kick in after €100 of bills, something like that. For the little extra money we said it would be worth it to be fully covered. Never had to claim off it so dont know how effective it is, but I'm sure its fine.

The Sweeper

hanton12 wrote:

The insurance (which was proabably around €400 overall, cant really remember) covered all accidents and travel. It seemed really good value anyway. There was a premium thing to add extra which was offered to us, which basically meant you would get all payments as soon as you were in hospital or lost luggage etc. Without it there was some conditions like it would only kick in after €100 of bills, something like that. For the little extra money we said it would be worth it to be fully covered. Never had to claim off it so dont know how effective it is, but I'm sure its fine.

The insurance price just caught my attention. I have a a year's travel insurance policy at the moment that covers me and my other half for travel in and around Australia - but not skiing - and most other things including personal liabilty (unless I hit someone with my car, charmingly enough). It also covers lost luggage, delays on flights and all those shenanigans.

It was about €150 for the year for the two of us - but saying that, I got it in the UK so I don't know if it's cheap because it's an English insurance company and Irish insurance companies are more expensive in genral, or because the visa peeps are making a bunch of money off backpackers.

Did you do much shopping around for your insurance?

hanton12

Minesajackdaniels wrote:

The insurance price just caught my attention. I have a a year's travel insurance policy at the moment that covers me and my other half for travel in and around Australia - but not skiing - and most other things including personal liabilty (unless I hit someone with my car, charmingly enough). It also covers lost luggage, delays on flights and all those shenanigans.

It was about €150 for the year for the two of us - but saying that, I got it in the UK so I don't know if it's cheap because it's an English insurance company and Irish insurance companies are more expensive in genral, or because the visa peeps are making a bunch of money off backpackers.

Did you do much shopping around for your insurance?

yeah I had a look at most places that would do insurance, but my trip included America and South America, so maybe they would have driven up the prices with other companies. It was well over half the price of the next cheapest quote.

The Sweeper

Yeah including America does drive up the price, I saw that. Perhaps it's because America is so expensive for everything insurance-wise (and so litigious in terms of personal liability).

So there's another tip for the OP - make sure you get insurance that covers specifically where you want to go, instead of round-the-world trip insurance!

mandrake04

Hi there I came to Australia over 2 years ago on a working holiday and I then got sponsored for a 4 year visa and am in the process of becoming a permanent resident so here is my advice.

To get a 1 year 417 WH visa you do not need Garda checks (you only need these if applying for permanent residency) and you only need X-rays if you are going to work with Kids or in the Medical profession. You can get a second year if you work for 3 months in a rural area either (farming or fruit picking) in your 1st year.
The rules have now changed and you can work for up to 6 months with the same employer.

You are also required to have $5000 to enter with this visa but I was never asked to prove this.

For the boys construction work is probably the best paid work and the Irish are very well respected and they work mostly building roads and Tunnels. Most employers are Paddy contractors who came to Australia years ago and they sub contract to the larger firms who are contracted by the government to build these large schemes. I was driving an Excavator and I was getting paid $1900 (about 1100 euro) for a 60 hour week, some of my friends were getting up to $2500 a week as an operator but you need all the proper tickets (Licences) and a bit of experience most of the country boys tend to be favoured over the city boys in this trade. Labouring is usually around $1500 a week if you are a Carpenter you can get work as a form worker which is a bit more. Plumbers are priceless but electricians can’t work. Quantity surveyors are in big demand and pay big money with a good chance of sponsorship.

You will need a work cover induction card (Green Card) this can be obtained from 7th floor Dymocks building after a 1 day course.

If you can play Gaelic football or hurling that helps in finding work.

Another tip is that it is now harder to find work if you live in Bondi or Coogee, I have heard that many Paddy bosses view that anyone who lives in the eastern suburbs as ****wits and unreliable because they are late for work or still in the Tea gardens on a monday morning …..and so it can be difficult to get your foot in the door also the eastern suburbs have poor public transport and horrendous morning traffic. The bosses favour the inner west of Burwood, Five Dock, Croydon and Ashfield because most live in that area (they made their fortune building the Olympic park in Homebush near by) and it’s easy to be picked up in the mornings. Try the Pine Inn in Burwood at the weekends and the Illinois Hotel in Five Dock during the week as usual hangouts where the bosses drink.

Unless you’re a Nurse or Engineer girls tend to get more of a raw deal for causal work they are often in competition for employment with millions of Asians and Indians who are prepared to do the soft work (retail or cleaning) for **** all and are often paid the equivalent to a kilo of rice. Some girls really struggle to find good work but at best you could try traffic control which involves holding a STOP/GO sign for the construction work this pays about the same as Labouring but its hard to get constant work and you probably need to know someone.

Hairdressing is popular if you are trained or child minding in day care centres but this requires the correct qualifications and the X-rays.

If you fancy working in a call centre try an employment agency such as IPA Recruitment and ask for the Irish girl called Sinead.

I have even heard of girls posing nude in magazines and working in brothels and its well paid.


If you are going to buy a car a Commodore or falcons are good buys these cars always have loads of second hand parts available and all garages know how to fix them. Police in Sydney might be a bit wary of Irish driving licences since some dick head had the smart idea of counterfeiting and selling fake driving licences so they could be exchanged into Aussie licences at the RTA but UK drivers licences are ok.

Rent can be expensive and you can get easily burned if not careful most places have 3 or 6 month leases so if you get stuck somewhere it isn’t easy just to pack up and move somewhere else since a bond is involved. A lot of people are attracted to traditional County Bondi area this attracts a lot of backpackers into an expensive part of beach side real estate and you pay high rent for what you get cramped living. I did it myself but I would think twice about it again…. it is nice in summer to live beside the beach but in Sydney it can be cold during winter and the novelty of living there wears off and you wonder is it worth it. A better idea is to live further west along the inner west rail line you can get the same housing cheaper or twice the house for the same money what ever way you look at it. What you save in rent you can buy a car and drive to better beaches than Bondi. Also it easier to get work as explained above.

If you do visit Bondi be very careful of swimming in the sea, there are strong rips at Bondi and these pull you very quickly towards the rocks at the south end of beach this is called ‘Backpacker ally’ by the surf guards.

If you go out to pubs make sure you have ID bouncers prefer an Aussie drivers licence or over 18 card..... a passport will do but you are at risk of losing it. You can get an over 18 card by filling out a form at the RTA or police station.

Some Bouncers in the city can be awkward if they don’t like the look of you will be refused and there isn’t any point in arguing with them watch out for the Maori or Islander type they do not understand the what the craic is or understand Irish banter and have a reputation of refusing when the hear the accent.

Low down on some popular pubs.

Mercantile- best place in the city esp. on a Sunday
PJ O’Brian’s- Plastic paddy pub but popular.
Scruffy Murphys – another plastic paddy pub bouncers are pricks
Cock & bull – Its in Bondi junction good place to meet people.
St Partricks Tavern- cant remember what its like but everyone says avoid it.
Tea gardens (The Terminator)- open all sunday night til 7am can get rough.
Coogee bay hotel- good on summer Sundays
Bondi Beach Hotel- good on Sunday
Hero of waterloo – good on Sunday night but small

The above is only a guide but any questions and I will be glad to answer.

man1

mandrake04 wrote:

To get a 1 year 417 WH visa you do not need Garda checks (you only need these if applying for permanent residency) and you only need X-rays if you are going to work with Kids or in the Medical profession.

Thats strange! Why is that? What would that prove?

BTW some very good advice there mandrake. Will be applying for the 136 visa soon for the family. Probably heading to melbourne.

mandrake04

Originally Posted by man1
Thats strange! Why is that? What would that prove?

X-Rays show signs of TB in the lungs.

These are required you are applying for sponsorship subclass 457 visa or permanent residency Skilled subclass 136 visa so now you know

man1

Oops!!
Sorry, didnt know that.

Are you still in Sydney? Is that where you are working now?
Have you been to Melbourne, whats it like?
We might be going there to live.

mandrake04

Melbourne is more cultured than Sydney..... People are friendly and it feels more like a European city where as Sydney feels like the UK in the sun. Melbourne is very hot and dry during the summer and very cold during the winter driving through Victoria is very like driving through Ireland. I would be happy living anywhere in Australia takes a while to settle in but real Aussies hold dear the same values as Irish people.