After helping thousands of individuals, business owners, partners, family, investors and many more through the immigration process, our team has come across a wide range of common questions. Below you will find the answers to these many questions regarding Australian visas, Australian citizenship, bringing visas and much more.
Unless you are sponsored by an employer, then yes. The most essential requirement to qualify for the second Working Holiday Visa (subclass 417) is to complete three months – or 88 days to be exact – of regional farm work in the country and in specific jobs such as fruit picking and packing, trimming vines, fishing, working in tree farming, or working in mining.
Fact: 88 days is the combined length of the shortest three-month period.
Farm days are counted differently if you work full-time or part-time and you don’t need to do your three months’ work all in one go, or all with one employer. If you work full-time (35-40 hours a week, depending on what industry you are in), the 88 days includes your days off.
For example: working seven hours a day for five days a week can be counted as seven visa days (you’re doing 35 hours a week).
If you work part-time or casual, only work days are counted.
For example: working eight hours a day for four days is counted as four visa days (you’re doing 32 hours a week instead of 35 hours minimum as required).
BE CAREFUL: For your farm work to be eligible, you must at least earn $17.70 per hour (minimum legal wage before tax), even when you’re being paid per kilogram. If this is not possible, then your work may not qualify for the second-year visa and you should seek employment elsewhere.
One important thing is that you need to keep all of your receipts (i.e. rent, food shopping etc.) and payslips. In fact, your payslips are key. They will provide evidence of work done, count your days and confirm payment has been received. Don’t forget to make sure your employer is legit by giving your Tax File Number and receiving their Tax File Number.
Generally, a bridging visa is a temporary visa that will allow you to remain in Australia lawfully while your substantive visa application or visa appeal is decided. Some Bridging visas also allow you to exit and re-enter Australia and have work rights. Others do not allow ether.
If your sponsor ends your employment, you have 60 days to either:
find another employer to sponsor you;
apply for a different visa; or
leave Australia within 90 days, or before your visa expires, whichever comes first.
Aurec is one of few migration agencies to successfully achieve a Federal On-Hire Labour Agreement with the Department of Immigration. This agreement enables Aurec to provide an independent Sponsorship option for both companies and individuals, affording flexible and fast resource solutions. This means that you can start work as soon as possible on the TSS visa arrangements with Aurec.
Due to the highly publicised skills shortages within many occupation classifications across Australia, employers are increasingly utilising approved agencies to source and/or sponsor skilled workers where they don’t want to hold the visa or have the hassle of sponsoring themselves. This helps both sides in finding the right person for the job without sponsorship hassle.
Our specialist team can also provide an avenue to sponsor your prospective employees on TSS visas if you have already sourced a candidate and wish to offer them a role; alternatively, if you have sourced your own role and it’s simply too much hassle, we can step in and help.
No – your employer can’t cancel your visa. Only the Department of Home Affairs (DoHA) can cancel your visa. However, your employer can contact the Department to request that your visa be cancelled and may have obligations to do so should you cease employment with them.
The general age limit for most Australia visas is 45 years old. There are however some business visas that allow for applicants of up to 55 years of age.
Although, this age limit can be significantly lower for certain visas such as the Working Holiday visa subclass 417, which is 31 for the majority of countries and 35 for a certain few.
However, a subclass 482 visa has no age limit.
An expression of interest (EOI) is a way of showing your interest in applying for a skilled visa to immigrate to Australia. It is an online form in SkillSelect which asks a series of questions about your skills depending on the visa subclass that you are selecting to apply for.
The EOI is used to calculate your ability to meet the points test for certain skilled visas. It is available for Employers and State/Territory Government agencies should you like to be considered for a sponsored skilled visa.
Most Skilled visas for immigration to Australia require applicants to score a minimum number of points on the Points Test. Skilled migration is one of the most complex visas to apply for. As these visas can be expensive, we recommend that you contact our team here for a free assessment to check your eligibility before you proceed with the application.
Yes. No matter how big of small the conviction, you should still declare it.
For anyone who wishes to enter Australia you must be of good character and will be assessed against the character requirements. When applying for your visa, you may be required to provide a police clearance certificate or other evidence to satisfy the character requirements for the visa.
Yes. If you have at least 6 months remaining on your visa, it is a simple transfer that is much more cost effective and quicker than a new visa application.
Becoming an Australian citizen means that you are making an ongoing commitment to Australia and is the beginning of your formal membership of the Australian community. The Australian government encourages permanent residents of Australia to apply for Australian citizenship when they become eligible and how you apply for Australian citizenship will vary depending on your current personal circumstances. To find out if you’re eligible to become an Australian citizen, please click here.
Once you are an Australian citizen you will also gain the right to vote.