Leaving the RSMS for Canada...

Undertow

Hi! I'm considering moving to Canada for a couple of years on the working holiday visa. I'm currently on the 857 Visa here and only have another few months to go before fulfilling its obligation by working in a regional area for 2 years. I'm thinking of moving to Canada straight after.

However if things went well over there, I got sponsored and stayed for a few years, how might I apply to come back to Oz then? Am I right in saying that you can only live outside of Oz for 2 years or the visa is then cancelled?

aido79

Undertow wrote: »

Hi! I'm considering moving to Canada for a couple of years on the working holiday visa. I'm currently on the 857 Visa here and only have another few months to go before fulfilling its obligation by working in a regional area for 2 years. I'm thinking of moving to Canada straight after.

However if things went well over there, I got sponsored and stayed for a few years, how might I apply to come back to Oz then? Am I right in saying that you can only live outside of Oz for 2 years or the visa is then cancelled?

You need to have lived in the country where your passport was issued in the 18 months previous to your application for a whv to Canada.
Your Australian visa wouldn't be cancelled as you would be a permanent resident.

mandrake04

Undertow wrote: »

Am I right in saying that you can only live outside of Oz for 2 years or the visa is then cancelled?

Simple rule is you have to live in Australia 2 years out of 5 to get a Residents Return visa.

Did you do any time on a Temporary visa before the 857?

Time on a WHV, 457 etc counts towards the 4 years for Citizenship.

Undertow

mandrake04 wrote: »

Simple rule is you have to live in Australia 2 years out of 5 to get a Residents Return visa.

Did you do any time on a Temporary visa before the 857?

Time on a WHV, 457 etc counts towards the 4 years for Citizenship.

Not anymore Aido! They're changing the rules for the upcoming 2013 IEC program where they've ditched that habitual residency rule!

I was on a working holiday visa for 6months prior to obtaining the 857 Visa. I've been on that for the past 18 months and to be quite honest with you, I have enough of Regional Oz now and would love to get out asap. But I'll stick it out for the next 6months! I want to give Canada a try, and possibly stay for 2-4 years. In the long term I want to get citizenship in Oz so I'll prob end up coming back for a further year to get that in a few years. However I've heard that you have to live in Australia 2 years out of 5 to get a Residents Return visa, but I was was wondering what happens if I stayed in Canada for 5 years say, how could I come back to Oz then? Realistically I will prob come back to Oz after a couple of years there... but I'm just weighing up all my options atm!

Decisions, decisions!

irishmover

My assumption would be you'll lose your PR and would be back to square one. But that's just a guess!

Undertow

irishmover wrote: »

My assumption would be you'll lose your PR and would be back to square one. But that's just a guess!

That would be my fear! Nevermind, I doubt I'll want to be away from Oz much longer than 3 years anyway so I'll prob come back before I have to and push on for Citizenship.

Speaking of which, does that mean I will need to work in Oz for a further 18months for Citizenship when I come back? I'll have done 6months on a WHV and 2 on a RSMS by that stage. Is there much paperwork and **** to deal with to gaining citizenship in Oz? How much does it cost roughly?

mandrake04

Undertow wrote: »

That would be my fear! Nevermind, I doubt I'll want to be away from Oz much longer than 3 years anyway so I'll prob come back before I have to and push on for Citizenship.

Speaking of which, does that mean I will need to work in Oz for a further 18months for Citizenship when I come back? I'll have done 6months on a WHV and 2 on a RSMS by that stage. Is there much paperwork and **** to deal with to gaining citizenship in Oz? How much does it cost roughly?

$260 and a 20 minute application on the net.

Traq

I think it's a bit more complicated than coming back and completing the remaining 18 months as you can't be absent from Australia for more than 12 months in total in the four years prior to the application, so it would depend on how long you were away in Canada for whether you could just complete the 18 months or if you would have to start the whole four year process again.

If you're unsure about any of it, you can use this website to work out the various combinations for you.

https://www.ecom.immi.gov.au/citz/startIntervalCalc.do

Undertow

Cheers Traq! A bit more food for thought!

Traq

Undertow wrote: »

Cheers Traq! A bit more food for thought!

No worries, I've actually been thinking about doing the same myself, although at least I qualify for citizenship next March so I'll wait till after that before I make any decision!

Edit: just to clear up, I'm not on the rsms, went through ens for residency.