In Australia, Options to extend WHV ??

AusVisa123

Hi guys,

So looking for a bit of help if anyone has any ideas on best option for me to stay another year or 2 in Australia.

I moved out a couple if months ago and loving it so far. Im 31, and found out i cant do farm work to extend my stay for another year as you have to do it before turning 31.

I was offered sponsorship but i only want to be here for a extra year when my visa expires and he is trying to charge me 12k (i think hes including his expenses) and my wages drop slightly.. So its not a option for me sponsorship.

Im hearing about student visa etc. Do i have to extend college weekly? I hear different stories all the time.. Has anyone went through this process and could they explain best and cheapest wat to sorting this out?

And what other options do i have to stay another extra year apart from sponsorship and student visa?

I appreciate any feedback

Thank you

pete4130

It's illegal for them to charge you to sponsor you as far as I know ith regrds to certain costs so if your employer is willing to do that, I wouldn't put much faith in them to be that trustworthy.

https://www.tssimmigration.com.au/migration-news/blog/recovering-costs-of-a-457-visa-application-employer-obligations

Also, student fees for an international student as yourself could be at least $11,000 a year and you are limited to 20 hours work a week.

There is no cheap or easy option to stay beyond the WHV.

AusVisa123

Hi pete thanks for your reply, Yeah i am aware the employer cant make you cover costs but im not going to bring it up with him. He isnt the main employer he is a sub contractor.. if i went direct with company it only be 5k and take a rate reduction.. But im not really interested in sponsorship.

I just want another full year after visa expires. I dont think there thay strict on the 20 hrs a week? I know people whos on student Visa working full weeks.. But its hard to understand them when i ask them how they went about it etc.

Has anyone here went the student Visa route and able to give me some pointers?

Thanks

pete4130

The way they get around the 20 hours is pretty simple.

The employer says you earn $50 per hour for example and you work 20 hours a week. This gives you $1000 per week.

In reality, you work 40 hours per week at $25. I've had a friend who did this for about 6 months. She studied Capoeira (Brazilian dance/martial arts) as it was the cheapest course she could find and was about $6000, while working her "20 hours" in a bar.
You have to attend the course though or a certain % of it. If you got investigated or ever wanted to return to Australia and they investigated you upon entry, they can easily find this out and deny you entry.

If you only want to stay the extra year, the $12K seems to be what you'd need to pay on a student visa or through sponsorship and after the year is up you still have the option to stay on if you feel like it if you went the sponsorship route.

AusVisa123

Thanks pete i will have to look into student visa more then. Does anyone have any recommendations who to use or the process?

Also say my visa expires January 8th. If i go home for christmas and come back to Australia 5th January would i be turned away and not let back into country? As i understand they give you 28 days grace after visa expires to leave the country would i be aloud to reenter seeking my student visa? I just want to be sure before i book my tickets home

pete4130

It would look very questionable why you would want to spend the money on a plane ticket to Australia after going home for Christmas just for 3 days left. I'd be fairly certain you'd be flagged and pulled in for questioning why you're back for 3 days. They'd probably want to see money in a bank account and a plane ticket existing Australia.

I don't think there is any grace period of 28 days. If you overstay your visa, you overstay and could face a re-entry ban for 3 years and no guarantee you'd ever be granted another visa in the future. They do not mess around.

I went on holiday on my 2WHV and got pulled in for questioning. It seems everyone on the WHV2 that leaves and re-enters is flagged for questioning.
Their main concern for me was that my residential address was Sydney but my work current work address and the work address for my rural work was QLD. I was doing Fly in/Fly Out work and once they were able to verify this (by checking ABN numbers, calling my company, verifying everything surprisingly quickly with the access to information they have) they were satisfied and I was allowed to re-enter.

I think, even if you had a period of time between January 5th and a student visa, you can apply for a tourist visa which will start right away when your WHV finishes. They still might want you to prove you won't be working in that 28 days, have money to support yourself etc...

The easiest way to know everything is to call border control, early when they open in the morning to beat the 2 hours being on hold and ask them.

Pauliedragon

AusVisa123 wrote: »

Hi pete thanks for your reply, Yeah i am aware the employer cant make you cover costs but im not going to bring it up with him. He isnt the main employer he is a sub contractor.. if i went direct with company it only be 5k and take a rate reduction.. But im not really interested in sponsorship.

I just want another full year after visa expires. I dont think there thay strict on the 20 hrs a week? I know people whos on student Visa working full weeks.. But its hard to understand them when i ask them how they went about it etc.

Has anyone here went the student Visa route and able to give me some pointers?

Thanks

Be careful with the student visa working. A pub I worked in Sydney got audited and anyone who did over 20 hours had their visa automatically cancelled. Some of them only had done 23-24 hours. There was no leeway. This was about 7 years ago so maybe things have changed.

Noo

There is no 28 day grace period. Once your visa it up its up and you will get a ban if you overstay it.

mandrake04

There is a 28 day period once your visa ends, it’s not really a grace period but since people do make honest mistakes when it comes to dates it’s more of a 4 week period to get your sh!t together and leave lawfully.

You usually need to contact immigration and show them proof of your flight within the 28 days, they will issue you with a Bridging visa E.

If you do not have a valid visa and show up at the airport trying leave, you could be detained and miss your flight.

mandrake04

AusVisa123 wrote: »

Thanks pete i will have to look into student visa more then. Does anyone have any recommendations who to use or the process?

Also say my visa expires January 8th. If i go home for christmas and come back to Australia 5th January would i be turned away and not let back into country? As i understand they give you 28 days grace after visa expires to leave the country would i be aloud to reenter seeking my student visa? I just want to be sure before i book my tickets home

You would need to apply for a bridging visa to take you lawfully from one visa to next within that 28 days, but if you applied for a student visa before your current visa ends you wouldn’t need a bridging visa at all as the new visa will cancel out the old one.

There little chance they let back into Australia with only 3 days left on a WHV unless you had a ticket to leave before the 3rd day.

Elfman

Have a look for cheap courses you can do which qualify for student visa.