On a visitors visa

I've read somewhere that people go to OZ on a visitors visa and get jobs while there. It's fairly odd that there are expos's asking people with skills to move there, and then telling them to wait a year or more.
"Hey man, I got this great place, you'll love it, REALLY! Oh now? No no. in 18 months".

So what I'm wondering. If I go there as a visitor and get a job (I've found well over 100 jobs on seek that I qualify for), what am I facing? Honestly, have any programmers moved there on a travel visa?

First off what you're suggesting is technically not allowed, although people have managed to do it successfully.

If you arrive on a tourist visa they will righfully expect you to be just a tourist. If they suspect that you are using that visa to get into the country and look for work then they can and most likely will send you home. Chances are they'll have no idea, but in the event that they think you're not a genuine tourist they interview you and check your bags. If they find things like references, resumes or work related certificates and things to help you job hunt (names of recruiters) then you'll most likely find yourself on a plane back home. So if you want to go this route be sure to do it carefully. I would suggest keeping everything on a laptop.

Usually they suspect people when they can't really relate any travel plans and don't seem to have enough money to support yourself. If you act like a tourist and have the funds for your stay then you should be fine. Not trying to scare you but I watch Border Security on tv and have seen people sent back for trying to come and find work on a tourist visa.

Now. onto the regular visa bit. Why don't you try and find a sponsor from overseas? If you can get a sponsored temp visa (457) it is processed very quickly, could be a few weeks to a few months depending on how quickly both parties get their crap together. Once you have that visa you can apply for permanent visa once you apply for Australia (still need to meet the requirements). You can apply for both visas at once if you like, but you need to be careful about the timing because you can only hold one visa at once. The downside to the temp visa is that you're tied to the employer who sponsored you and you're not eligible for any benefits here, which means you'd have to pay for private health care which could be a few grand a year. The other major downside is that if you lose your job on a temp visa you have 28 days to find a new sponsor or you have to leave the country.

What I would do though (which is what I did) is just bite the bullet and apply for a permanent visa from the start. Just wait it out and then once you've got it know that you can work for anyone you want and live anywhere. You're obviously from a low risk country (Canada) and if your job is in demand your visa should be processed a lot faster than 18 months. We applied back in 2006 and got ours in 6 months, plus 1 month for skills assessment. Most skilled permanent visas are closer to the 8 month mark, give or take as long as they are in demand.

Usually the high risk countries are looking at 1-2 years before they get their visas. But for low risk I'd say it's more like 6-15 months, and if you're quick on the medicals and police checks and don't have any complications then you'd be closer to 6-12 months, so I'd say about 8 months is the average. So not as bad as you make it out to be.

So you have several options really:
-go on a tourist visa and look for a sponsor for 457 visa (risky)
-try to find a job while overseas (can be difficult) and get a 457 visa then go over (not quite as risky)
-get the PR visa from the get go provided you meet all the requirements (best option)

The thing about the perm visa is the time. I've been given 3 months notice that my position in the company is no more (they layed off 1/3 of the company). If I found a job in Canada, then chances are good they'd expect me to hang around for more then the time it takes to get a visa. (at least I'd hope).
I have an intense amount of work ethic and loyality comes with that. As much as I've wanted to go for a while, I've never wanted to leave my current employeer.

I've enough money in the bank, and a small gig that brings in money no matter where I live, so I could actually live in OZ for a few years without taking in cash. I've also got family there. No matter where I stay though, the small gig will bore me, and I'll get a full time job to reconsile the boredom. (I don't do well when not working 60hrs a week)

As to tourist plans, I've actually already got an ultra marathon lined up in march, that alone I suspect would be a reason to visit OZ. (I've wanted to run down there for a while).

Anyway. Still looking for people who've done this. I'd love to hear from you.

Try posting your question on here then, you'll probably get more responses:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=32

Be prepared for strong messages about not having the right visa, etc. There's nothing to stop you from doing as you proposed. I know it's been done before, even though it's not all that legitimate in the approach.

Also. if you are under 30 then you can just get a Working Holiday Visa. These are pretty much granted immediately (over the internet), and would allow you to work in Australia for 1 year. The only real condition is that you can only work for 1 employer for up to 6 months at a time and after you've been in Australia for a full year you have to leave. Although you could certainly try and get a 457 sponsor while you're here.

However. if you're over 30 or married then you'd either have to get sponsored or go over as a tourist and hope for sponsorship.

Had a quick search on the site and found these:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthre ... ponsorship
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthre ... ponsorship
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthre ... ponsorship
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthre ... ponsorship
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthre ... ponsorship
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthre ... ponsorship

The last couple of links are a bit old, because now with a working holiday visa you can work with 1 employer for up to 6 months (instead of the 3 it used to be). But that's only for the WHV (working holiday) visa. With a tourist visa you're not allowed to work at all.

So if you're under 30 you have a legitimate way in to look for work. If you're over 30 you'll either have to go the proper way (permanent visa or sponsorship while overseas) or go on a tourist visa and look for work.

If your skills are in demand though you could try to look for work for a couple of months while in Canada. I will warn you, it's very difficult. My husband is a mining engineer which is very high in demand and he still couldn't find a sponsor, or a job for that matter even once we had the visa. No one took us seriously until we actually arrived in the country with a permanent visa in hand.

The last line paragraph is what I've found. People have responded to my resume, but they always ask when am I going to be in OZ. To which I say, when do you need me. I am on the demand list, and I've found 100's of jobs on Seek that I'm qualified for.
Thanks for the links, they were excellent.

You're right quite a few people are very angry about this rout. What I don't understand is why. I'm not looking to do anything but start paying taxes in Oz. I'm on the in demand list, in great health, I've got no kids and apart from one speeding ticket I'm crime free. Where you to come to canada and never take a dime of Canadian "socialism", I'd be more than happy to take your income tax contributions. If you came here on a travel visa and got a job in the first few weeks. Well. Now you're paying taxes. welcome!

Still looking for someone who's done it?

Haha yeah we have a show here in Oz called "Border security" which this reminds me of, which is basically a behind the scenes tv show showing people coming through customs, immigration and quarantine into Australia, so once you've seen that show a few times you see what you can and cant get away with. OFTEN times people come in from countries all over the world, often America - with tourist visas and when they start doing an investigation they have resumes in their bags and no money in their wallets, hah.
Anyways thats obviously not the case with you but its in the back of peoples minds when you explain your situation hehe.
So I would suggest the WHV, if you are not eligible I wouldnt suggest doing the tourist visa route. There is something called No further stay condition (conditions 8503, 8534 or 8535); that I would just assume would be on the tourist visa, thats just a guess though. Which would mean you are not able to be sponsored while on that visa....I assume that because they dont want you to come over on that visa and look for work or sponsorships. Plus being on a tourist visa it will be difficult to even arrange a job interview when your here, they will ask you on the phone guaranteed what visa you hold and if you say tourist they wont take you seriously. You might as well apply for jobs at home. I know because im on a student visa (3rd visa I have held here) and they dont take me seriously because of the conditions on this visa. Plus with the economy in the shape it is right now they are going to hire aussies living here before spending the time and money to sponsor someone from overseas...So its pretty much either WHV, work for them and get them to fall in love with your skills (I did this) or get the permanant before you come over...

Sadly I don't qualify for the WHV. I'm 35.
The idea that I can't work there is daunting, however I've just figured out my finances and I could easly survive for over a year, even if I don't work the canadian contracts I have.
I'd of course go insane not working for a year, so I will be looking, just not agressively at first. Who knows, perhaps I'll never work for an OZ company, I'll just live there.

I was in a very similiar situation to you. I was a programmer working for an American company on Vancouver Island when I decided to move to Queensland after I had been on vacation here. I went home, put in my notice, sold all my stuff and took a huge leap of faith and came over. I did this because I had casually looked at job ads and talked to immigration while here on holiday and everything seemed very positive. When I got here I had several job offers pretty much right away and was sponsered for a business visa for three years. There was a ton of paperwork and other red tape to go through (criminal checks, medicals, etc. that all cost a fortune) but with perseverance it can be done. During the three years of working here I met a guy and got married so I had to change from a business visa to a spousal visa which was much more complicated. I have now been in Queensland for eight years and love it still. I no longer work for the company that initially sponsered me. Though I was unable to leave that job until I changed to a spousal visa.

I think that the only reason I got sponsered in the end is because I was actually sitting in their offices, had all the necessary experience and education, and was available to start immediately. I got pretty lucky as well because at the time programmers where in such high demand.

As far as I know (though I didn't do this and therefore am not that confident in my knowledge) you can also apply for a skilled migration visa, if you take the necessary industry skills tests, etc. you don't have to be sponsered by a company. You just have to be proficient in a high-demand profession for which there is a skills shortage.

Good luck,

Well considering Canadians who have married an Australian pay thousands of dollars to go through the Australian immgration system just to be allowed into the country to live with their husband or wife in my opinion entering the country on a visitors visa with the intention of working is wrong.

There is a system which keeps it all fair and by doing that you are in a way rorting the system. If you are caught at the airport and they believe you will be working on a visitors visa then you may be taken to the nearest detention centre until the next flight is available.

I understand you want to come to Austrlalia to work but there are right and wrong ways of doing things. Good luck.

The problem I'd have with the skilled migration, is not the skills part it's the wait part. Assuming I have qualify, it takes up to 18 months to get through. That would mean I have to essentially lie to my canadian employeer, telling them I give a crap about the success of the project/company, all the while knowing I'm leaving them. It would be like dating a girl you know you're not going anywhere with. It's one thing to break up when you realize you don't fit. It's another to string them along for "up to 18 months".
Thanks katieNQ for being the first I've read to admit to the "sneek". I'm hoping my luck is the same as your's. I'm a c guy and Seek gives me the feeling I'm going to be picked up quite rapidly.