new member..and hopefuly new start here in adelaide

[Guest mattbell76]

hi there all:)..my name is matthew bell..ive arrived here on a tourist visa for 12 months, but would love to start a life here:)..ive met a lovely woman since beig here and have been lookin into other visa's...this is where i seem to be at a standstill tho cos im 33 so im above the age for a working visa and have not worked in any skilled jobs that are required:(....does anyone have any suggestions about options for me that i may have missed?...thank you or your time

[Diane]

Pop in and have a chat with the Department of Immigration people while you're in Adelaide, they are a really helpful lot and should be able to point you in the right direction before you start paying out money to agents etc.

[Guest mattbell76]

thank you diane..will do that ..worth a go..i assume thats in the city..i will find it and pop in when i next in city:)

[Guest Kazzarazza]

thank you diane..will do that ..worth a go..i assume thats in the city..i will find it and pop in when i next in city:)

Hi Matt, Welcome to Adelaide - I reckon you've picked one of Australia's best kept secrets.

The immigration office is at 55 Currie Street in the city.

Good Luck, Kazza

[Guest mattbell76]

hi there kazza..thanks for the info...and yeahh i love adelaide so much...im in taperoo a 2 min walk to a gorgeous beach...absolutely lovely..lovely people:)..its been very refreshing to have strangers say good morning etc as you walk by...i hope there is a way for me to stay..ive spent days lookin on sites for ways and have come up with nothing..apart from marriage/fiance...and im not sure firstly if my partner would lol..or even if that is a really difficult way of doing it anyway...anyway its a pleasure to meet you all...hopefuly meet some of you for real sometime

[Guest Kazzarazza]

Hey Matt. Been thinking some more about your situation and wondered if you had considered a student visa. I don't know anything your work backgound, but at 33 you must have one, lol. I also don't know too much about the student route, but you could find out what accredited courses are available on Adelaide. Obviously some courses cost more than others and I'm sure some are more difficult than others. I think it would give you a minimum of two years. The other plus is you can work up to 20 hours per week - something you can't do on your tourist visa.

 

Have your registered on the PIA parent site, www.pomsinoz.com ? There are some visa EXPERTS on there (especially Golllywobbler, real name Gill) and some wonderful agents, Alan Collett and George Lombard to name a couple, who offer terrific advice to help you get started. Don't be put off about your age, I believe people in their 50's have come in on student visas, looking for a career change and a way in to Oz. Who knows, after a couple of years you may even be interest in the partner / spouse route to a visa, lol - stranger things have happened!

 

Cheers, Kazza

[Guest mattbell76]

ooooo thanks for the further advice...didnt know there was a paent site..wil check it out:)..yeah ive had a bit of a look at student visa's...through TAFE...and all very much out of my price range...will look into it further and maybe find cheaper courses...been here since start of may and know i would like to stay now..so will look into all possibilities...i appreciate all your help and advice as im a bit lost really lol

[Guest skoobzz]

How about applying for defacto residency??

 

I came out on a working holiday visa, then became and international student cos i didnt want to go home. In the meantime, I was granted defacto residency with my Ozzie boyfriend. I was very much in love, but we didn't live together so we bent the truth a little when we applied for defacto residency.

 

As long as you are still together at least 2 years after your first application or you can 'convince' Immigration you are still together (!), you will get to stay here permanently. I now have Citizenship and have been here 10 years - shame the relationship didn't last more than 6 years tho, lol!!

 

It can be an involved process for some, but I found it relatively easy. We just filled out some forms, went to a couple of interviews, showed them birthday cards and letters and photos of me and my partner and his family etc and that was all they needed.

 

Hope that helps!

[Guest fuji70]

Hiya

 

I'm 39 and arrived last week on a 475 visa. My advice would be yes to try the Aus government agency first. After that approach the agents. A word of advice, approach a few. Their initial advise is free (or should be) and they will be able to tell you your best way in.

 

I say try a few as I approached a major agent who advertises on this site and people tend to respect. However, his staff advised me that I would not qualify and pretty much suggested I forget it. I gave up on the idea for 3 months but was pretty determined and so approached a couple more agencies, both of whom not only told me that I could get a visa, but in several parts of Aus.

 

In the end I used True Blue who were magnificent. I asked them pages of questions and they answered them all. For me they also guaranteed I would get my visa or I would get my money back off them. Very re-assuring. The agent I used even answered my queries via a Blackberry while at her husband's party!

 

I can't comment on other agencies, but if you go down that route approach a few. It's not cheap, but for me at my age it was certainly worth it.

 

I did consider coming over as a student but it's bloody expensive as a foreigner. Also, unless you go to uni, you'll likely be studying at a TAFE with some very unimpressed teenagers.

 

Good luck...and don't give up, it's worth it!!

[suzer]

You know you could always pop over to NZ for a year too if you can't find any way of staying in Oz for now. Working holiday visas there are good until age 35...and it's not as far away as the UK. We lived there for almost a year and loved it.