Hi all, we're both planning on going out to Australia to work, but only for 3 months. We've saved a fair bit do we need a work visa?
You must indeed be on a visa which allows you to work, in order to work. (if you try to work on a tourist visa, you'll find that you won't be employed as businesses run the risk of massive fines, and if you manage to find work anyway and are found out, you'll be deported and banned from the country.)
A regular work visa is hard and expensive to get, so a working holiday visa generally makes most sense. This allows you to work as much or as little as you want (up to 6 months at the same place). A WHV is "once in a lifetime", though - and only available for applying for up to the day you turn 31. There's one exception to this "once in a lifetime" bit, which is if, while on it, you do 3 months of "specified work" (which covers a bit more than just farm work) in regional Australia, you become eligible for a second WHV.
If you're still in your early twenties, and have really saved a fair bit (AUD $7000 per person should cover you for three months, travelling bacpacker-style (that's not that much more than the AUD $5000 you must have anyway to be eligible for a WHV in the first place)), I'd strongly consider not working, and just going as a tourist on an eVisitor (which is free), so you can go back to Australia later on for more than 3 months and still make use of the WHV. If, however, you're in your late twenties and are unlikely to have a further opportunity to use the WHV, and really want the experience of working abroad, then you might as well now.
For more on WHVs, see (which is also where you should apply for one; everywhere else will be a third party and more expensive).
[ 20-Sep-2013, at 02:54 by Sander ]
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