Ask Josem about visiting/living in Australia

[KDawg]

I have a couple of questions

Josem (or anyone that can answer), my father was born and raised in australia and I've entertained the thought of living there for a year or so after I finally graduate from college(I'm 27 right now). With my father being an aussie national, how hard of a time would I have getting a visa that allows me to work and live in Australia if I wanted to live there. The main places I would want to live are either sydney or melbourne but am also curious as to what living would be like in adelaide or other major cities in either new south wales or south australia. Queensland is a bit too far out of the way for me.

another question, how easy is it to fly to new zealand and obtain a work permit there (mainly thinking about either wellington or auckland, I'd want to keep myself to the north island). I know that new zealand isn't exactly right next door to australia, but it's also something that I've considered

[Josem]

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I just graduated from university and am about to plan a ~3month stay in Melbourne with the gf. She has a law degree (but cant practice yet) and I have finance deg.(but I plan to play poker there so wtv). We'll both be 23 by then.

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I don't know what you plan on doing, as tourist visas do not allow visitors to work.

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We plan on getting an appartment for that time being, but I was interested on how easy it is to find one in a nice area of Melbourne and for only 3 months? Is this do-able or do I have to start looking now, assuming I want it for September.

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I would imagine it is do-able within a fortnight. Melbourne is a city of over 4 million people, so it's not a small town.

If the worst came to the worst, you may pay a premium for a short lease, but I would think that would be unlikely.

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I guess it's easier to breakdown my questions in point form:

1)how long would it take to get an internet connection installed?

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It would normally take a couple of days in Melbourne. As soon as you have a location selected, get onto organising this.

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2)In the conversation on AIM you posted, the guy showed a nice building apptments with internet included and many other things. Is this worth it? Or should I rent a unit to get a real australian experience instead of a living like a tourist:P??

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I've got no personal experience of those facilities. However, there are many inner-city furnished high rise apartments.

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3)What areas of Melbourne (clean and secure) would you recommend?

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If you're after a high-rise apartment in a central location, Docklands or Southbank would be ideal. South Yarra through to Prahran is also very good, although they won't be high-rise places. Inner South-east Melbourne is the more affluent areas of town.

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4)Is there any place I could buy used monitors and sell them back? -->multi tabling PP

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Ebay?
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5)How easy will it be for her to get a entry lawyer type job...if not, any other decent job (clothing sales, waitress, etc)

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Unemployment in Australia is at a 30-year low. Be aware that tourist visas do not allow work rights (just as US tourist visas do not allow you to work in the US).

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6)Will u be in Melbourne from Sept-Dec?

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I work for a Federal Member of Parliament, and our national election will be in mid to late November. I would envisage being very busy in the lead up to that. Afterwards, however, I imagine I'll have a lot more time.

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Thx a lot, also added u on msn

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no problemo.

[Josem]

In my previous post, I assumed that you were a US citizen.

People from Belgium, Canada, Republic of Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan and United Kingdom can obtain more information about Working Holiday Visas here: http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/work.../417/index.htm


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my father was born and raised in australia and I've entertained the thought of living there for a year or so after I finally graduate from college(I'm 27 right now). With my father being an aussie national, how hard of a time would I have getting a visa that allows me to work and live in Australia if I wanted to live there.

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It sounds feasible; more info at http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/family/index.htm

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another question, how easy is it to fly to new zealand and obtain a work permit there (mainly thinking about either wellington or auckland, I'd want to keep myself to the north island). I know that new zealand isn't exactly right next door to australia, but it's also something that I've considered

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A flight between Australia and New Zealand is practically domestic these days when it comes to customs and visas etc. I assume that the barriers between Australia and New Zealand are even less than the barriers between the US and Canada.

NZ citizens (assuming they do not have criminal records and have not been deported and do not have untreated tuberculosis etc.) have wide ranging access to Australia - see http://www.newzealand.embassy.gov.au/wltn/VisaFAQ.html for more info.

"Citizens and permanent residents of Australia (who do not have certain criminal convictions) may visit, live and work in New Zealand indefinitely" (source: http://www.nzembassy.com/topic.cfm?C...l=60&s=go)

[Josem]

Thanks to diebitter for moving it here.

[TheMetetron]

Going to take a read through.

I am considering moving to Australia from January - May of 2008. After I get a chance to read, I'm sure I'll have a ton more questions for you.

[TheMetetron]

So as far as I understand, my best chance here is submitting a tourist visa application online and asking for a stay of 6 months right? Here's the link:

http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/tourist/676/index.htm

If I don't intend on visiting Australia until January of 2008, should I still do it now? Will the visa be valid until I decide to enter next time?

Is there some other way to stay for more than 3 but less than 6 months as a US citizen?

[Josem]

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So as far as I understand, my best chance here is submitting a tourist visa application online and asking for a stay of 6 months right? Here's the link:

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That sounds fine. US citizens (as, from memory, I think you are) are able to obtain tourist visas of up to 12 months.

Obviously, like tourist visas to the US itself, there are work restrictions.

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If I don't intend on visiting Australia until January of 2008, should I still do it now? Will the visa be valid until I decide to enter next time?

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When you apply for a visa (for any country, not just Australia) you need to include on your application your prospective dates.

Thus, just apply for it to be valid from, say, December 2007 until December 2008. I don't think (from memory - check for confirmation) there is any difference in cost for the length of your visa, so I'd assume you'd be better to get a longer one in case you change your plans.

There are a whole series of events from Boxing Day onwards in Australia, so if you don't have Christmas committments elsewhere, you may gain value from coming around then. Some are listed earlier in the thread, but some well known high profile events include:
-Christmas on a beach
-Boxing Day Cricket Test (MCG, Melbourne) (Dec 26)
-New Year's Eve at Sydney Harbour (Dec 31)
-Aussie Millions Poker (middle half of January
-Australian Open Tennis (2nd half of January)

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Is there some other way to stay for more than 3 but less than 6 months as a US citizen?

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Yes - the Electronic Travel Authority, which is available very easily at www.eta.immi.gov.au

The conditions are:
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Valid for visits to Australia for tourism or to visit friends or relatives
Valid for multiple visits within 12 months from date of issue
Maximum length of each visit is three months
You must not work while in Australia


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However, you do need to leave and return. In contrast to the vast majority of other countries in the world, Australia has no land borders, and thus, leaving and returning is likely to be slightly more difficult than elsewhere.

A flight to NZ or Indonesia would probably be the most effective option.

[TheMetetron]

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So as far as I understand, my best chance here is submitting a tourist visa application online and asking for a stay of 6 months right? Here's the link:

[/ QUOTE ]

That sounds fine. US citizens (as, from memory, I think you are) are able to obtain tourist visas of up to 12 months.

Obviously, like tourist visas to the US itself, there are work restrictions.

[ QUOTE ]
If I don't intend on visiting Australia until January of 2008, should I still do it now? Will the visa be valid until I decide to enter next time?

[/ QUOTE ]
When you apply for a visa (for any country, not just Australia) you need to include on your application your prospective dates.

Thus, just apply for it to be valid from, say, December 2007 until December 2008. I don't think (from memory - check for confirmation) there is any difference in cost for the length of your visa, so I'd assume you'd be better to get a longer one in case you change your plans.

There are a whole series of events from Boxing Day onwards in Australia, so if you don't have Christmas committments elsewhere, you may gain value from coming around then. Some are listed earlier in the thread, but some well known high profile events include:
-Christmas on a beach
-Boxing Day Cricket Test (MCG, Melbourne) (Dec 26)
-New Year's Eve at Sydney Harbour (Dec 31)
-Aussie Millions Poker (middle half of January
-Australian Open Tennis (2nd half of January)

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Is there some other way to stay for more than 3 but less than 6 months as a US citizen?

[/ QUOTE ]
Yes - the Electronic Travel Authority, which is available very easily at www.eta.immi.gov.au

The conditions are:
[ QUOTE ]
Valid for visits to Australia for tourism or to visit friends or relatives
Valid for multiple visits within 12 months from date of issue
Maximum length of each visit is three months
You must not work while in Australia


[/ QUOTE ]

However, you do need to leave and return. In contrast to the vast majority of other countries in the world, Australia has no land borders, and thus, leaving and returning is likely to be slightly more difficult than elsewhere.

A flight to NZ or Indonesia would probably be the most effective option.

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I had actually wanted to visit New Zealand as I assume there is some worthwhile stuff there. If I plan a flight over there for the very end of March and spend a week or two and then fly back I would be eligible to stay for another 3 months?

If so that sounds like the best option as the ETA seems cheaper and simpler. I just wasn't sure if leaving and returning soon after leaving would work to receive another 3 months.

Bought Lonely Planet's Australia today and go to take a look at it on my flight back to Buenos Aires on Wednesday.

[Josem]

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I had actually wanted to visit New Zealand as I assume there is some worthwhile stuff there. If I plan a flight over there for the very end of March and spend a week or two and then fly back I would be eligible to stay for another 3 months?

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I am not a registered migration agent, and I think there are some restrictions on offering migration advice, so for an expert answer you can legally rely upon, you should contact the embassy where ever you are.

That said, the ETA is "Valid for multiple visits within 12 months from date of issue" and "Maximum length of each visit is three months." Thus, it would seem that what you describe fits into the purpose.

I'm trying to be very careful with the disclaimers, 'cause I don't want to accidentally stuff someone's journey up. While I certainly am trying to respond accurately, I don't want to be blamed for an error - I'm not an expert.

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If so that sounds like the best option as the ETA seems cheaper and simpler. I just wasn't sure if leaving and returning soon after leaving would work to receive another 3 months.

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This seems reasonable to me.

[TheMetetron]

I has an ETA. Moving to Australia on January 4th, 2008... woohooo... now just need to decide where [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]