Dear John,
I am in Australia on my second-year working holiday visa. I am working at formwork carpentry. I have lots of site experience but no papers. I have two uncles that are residents of Australia, is it possible for them to sponsor me? I don’t want to go home!
Paddy Joe

Dear Paddy Joe,

Your options to look at skilled visas will depend on your experience in formwork carpentry.  Under the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations, formwork carpenter is a specialisation of carpenter. With at least three years’ experience as a formwork carpenter it is possible to be sponsored by an employer on a temporary work (457) visa.

From July 1,2011 sponsoring employers must pay a market rate salary above $49,330 a year.

With more than four years’ experience it may be possible to have your skills assessed by a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) to gain an Australian Qualification Certificate III in your trade.

To apply for a permanent visa directly a migration skills assessment is needed via Trades Recognition Australia. As a first step to having your skills recognised, do a self-assessment with an RTO or at the government’s Trade Set website: http://www.tradeset.com.au/

Be honest with your self-assessment. This step is free, the next stages will cost money. Relatives can be a temporary or permanent employer-sponsor, provided their business has a genuine need for your occupation.

Relatives such as uncles and aunts can also sponsor applicants for the points tested skilled sponsored migration (176) visa. However following migration law changes on July 1, 2011, no points are awarded for sponsorship by a relative. So for this visa type it would appear a relative can no longer add value.

Consider seeking a full assessment and strategy from a registered migration agent before starting any application. Find an agent at http://mia.org.au/

Dear John,
My husband and I are here on a student visa for two years. I’m the student. Our visa allows us to work 20 hours per week when my course is on and any hours during the three months a year holidays. As a heavy goods vehicle driver my husband is struggling to find part-time work. Is there a way to extend his work rights?
Gabrielle

Dear Gabrielle,

Student visas for vocational study such as the popular business or fitness certificates and diplomas (572 visas) or bachelor degree courses (573 visas) have condition 8105 that limits work to 20 hours a week during term time. There are no restrictions on work during the holiday time or after the course finishes. This condition cannot be changed and breaking the work rights could result in your visa being cancelled.

Family members of students who have started a masters or doctorate degree by research can work unlimited hours. Research students can work unlimited hours if they are a PhD or masters student and have submitted their thesis for marking.

An increasing number of Irish citizens are taking the student visa route to perment residency.

Irish nationals, desperate to see out Europe’s recession in Australia, are looking at student visa options to extend their stay Down Under, the Irish Echo has learned.

Overseas nationals can apply for a vast array of courses to secure a student visa, which also allows the holder to work for up to 20 hours per week.

While the course fees can be as much as $10,000 per year, an increasing number of Irish nationals are taking the option to ‘stay legal’, improve their skills and build towards permanent residency down the track.

The Irish Echo spoke to two young Irish women – one studying in a new private college and the other in an established university – who explained about getting their student visas, the cost, their studying experiences and how they hope it will lead to permanent residency.

Pádraig Collins reports.

––––––––––

Bridget is a 26-year-old from Cork who has enrolled in an accountancy course.

“I did two years on working holiday visas and then decided to stay on and so looked into studying here. I’m now doing a two-year advanced diploma in accountancy at a private college in Sydney.

“My fees are $6,000 a year which is a lot cheaper than the universities, where fees can be up to five times as much.

“I went to the CRICOS (Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students) website to find out about courses.

“That lists all the courses that are eligible for student visas. You can search by which type of course you want to do, be it a postgrad, diploma, certificate or whatever. Everything listed on that website makes you eligible for a visa.

“The college talked me through the process. Once I had enrolled with them they gave me a COE, a Certificate of Enrolment.

“That has a unique number on it and you bring it and any other paperwork such as previous certificates and anything relevant to your study to immigration with your application. Once you give that in it’s pretty straightforward. I was approved within a week.

“Because I was starting from scratch I didn’t need any prior education in accountancy. On my course, you start off at certificate level before you go on to the diploma. You start off at cert 3, then you go to cert 4 and work your way up to the advanced diploma.

“I think a lot of the students would be there just to get the visa, but the teachers we’ve had have been professional enough. We’ve had one or two really good teachers. The teaching system is pretty good there, but I don’t know from the student side of it how interested some of them would be.

“The vast majority of the other students speak English as a second language. This can make teaching difficult. But the majority of the teachers we’ve had so far also speak English as a second language, so this can make it doubly difficult for the other international students.

“It’s difficult enough to understand the language without the person who is speaking not having it as a first language either. We haven’t had much difficulty so far though.

“I can only work 20 hours a week, but once my two years study is complete I will have a graduate visa for another 18 months to get experience in the area I’m studying. If you’re studying something on the skilled migrant list you get the graduate visa. You can work full-time in that period.

“One of our teachers spoke to us about changes the government might be bringing in. As far as I know, if you were already enrolled before the changes were made you will get the graduate visa.

“I work for a finance company so I’m not as hard up as many of the students I go to school with, despite only working 20 hours a week.

“A lot of them work as cleaners and I’m sure they’d be on a lot less money than me. It is a bit of tight squeeze for me but I don’t know that it’s any worse than if I was studying back in Ireland.

“If I have to leave after three or four more years it won’t have been time wasted. If I can get a diploma it will be something to show for the extra time here. “