Australia Visa Resources to Get You To Oz

Australia Visa Resources to Get You To Oz

by | Jun 14, 2017 | Au Pair Resources, Travel, Travel Tips

Get the Australia Visa that is Right for You!

So, you are looking to come visit Australia! Let me help you decide what Visa looks right for you. As an American coming to work as an Au Pair I utilized the Work and Holiday Visa ( Subclass 462). I am now in the process of submitting a Partnership Visa request and will post about that process shortly. Feel free to send me any questions you may have. Most of these applications are pretty straightforward but please be prepared to wait a bit for a response. (Don’t apply the night before a flight!)

eVisitor Visa – This visa lets you visit Australia:

  • to visit or for business visitor purposes
  • for up to three months at a time within a 12-month period.
  • This is a free visa.
Requirements

You might be able to get an eVisitor if you are:

  • outside Australia
  • a passport holder of a certain country (Sadly not America)

Visitor Visa – This visa lets you visit Australia:

  • to visit or for business visitor purposes
  • for up to three, six or 12 months.

The base application charge for this visa ranges from AUD135 to AUD1000.

Requirements

You might be able to get this visa if you are traveling to Australia:

  • as a visitor
  • for business visitor activities
  • to visit family
  • on a tour with a registered travel agent from the People’s Republic of China.

Work and Holiday Visa (462)– This visa lets you work and travel Australia:

 This visa is for young people who want to holiday and work in Australia for up to a year.

You might be able to get this visa if you:

  • are at least 18 but not yet 31 years of age
  • do not have a dependent child accompanying you at any time during your stay in Australia
  • have a passport from an eligible country.
Requirements

You might be able to get this visa if you:

  • are at least 18 but not yet 31 years of age
  • don’t have a dependent child with you at any time during your stay in Australia
  • have a passport from:
    • Argentina, Bangladesh, Chile, China, People’s Republic of, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, USA, Uruguay, Vietnam

Working Holiday Visa (417)– This visa lets you work and travel Australia:

This visa is for young people who want to holiday and work in Australia for up to a year.

 

Requirements

You might be able to get this visa if you:

  • are at least 18 but not yet 31 years of age
  • do not have a dependent child accompanying you at any time during your stay in Australia
  • have a passport from an eligible country. (listed here)

I hope this list of resources has helped you decide which is right for your trip to Oz.

Keep in mind that for each of these visas, it is crucial to have Travel Insurance for unexpected cancellations and incidents. Thank goodness for Allianz because I fell down the steps while I was working as an Au Pair and landed in the hospital with a sprained ankle. All fees were completely covered!

 

 

California Globetrotter

 

Finding My Happy Place in Byron Bay

Finding My Happy Place in Byron Bay

by | Sep 23, 2016 | Byron Bay, Travel

This past weekend I took a trip to Byron Bay with my friend Rachel from Wales where I had my first hostel experience at Aquarius! I had an amazing time and met so many awesome backpackers from around the world.

My first hostel experience was amazing, weird, and just plain awesome. When we first arrived we thought we had booked the females only dorm, but, as we unlocked the doors, we were greeted by three half naked, young men. After dropping off our stuff we wandered around a bit and grabbed delicious burritos before heading over to Byron Bay Brewery for drinks.

When we got back to Aquarius it was raining a bit, so we decided to take a quick nap before our night out. We ended up going out with one of the other girls in our dorm named Kristie who is from Netherlands and is backpacking up the coast. It was definitely a memorable night involving lots of glitter… Don’t ask.

We only stayed out until around midnight since Rachel and I had to be up early the next day. It was then that I had my “Introduction to Diving” course and went on my first ever scuba diving adventure. I was a bit nervous at first but thanks to the amazing instructors I had an amazing experience filled with fish and the biggest turtle I had ever seen in my life! My biggest regret from my first dive was not having an underwater camera because it was incredible. Rachel did get a photo of me which you can see below.

It was then that I had my “Introduction to Diving” course and went on my first ever scuba diving adventure! I was a bit nervous at first but thanks to the amazing instructors I had an amazing experience filled with fish and the biggest turtle I had ever seen in my life! My biggest regret from my first dive was not having an underwater camera because it was incredible. Rachel did get a photo of me which you can see below. (I am the orange one)

That night we had the true hostel experience. We ate dinner with all of our dorm mates (Free Meals Each Night!) Afterwards, we moved the party to the common area. There we played ring of fire and other fun drinking games to get us excited for our last night out.

Our final day we spent lounging on the beach before heading back to the Gold Coast. I went body surfing with some of the guys, but the water was freezing so I didn’t last too long. It was a beautiful day out. Which made it extremely hard to get off the beach to go back to life as an Au Pair. Luckily, Byron is only an hour away so I will definitely be back!
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As you can see, I was not very happy to leave this beautiful place.

Until next time <3

First trip down the hill! 

First trip down the hill! 

by | Aug 7, 2016 | Au Pair

I made it out of the house today! 

Walking down the hill from the house to the beach felt like I was finally stepping out of the comfort zone that I made for myself at the Cooney’s home. I made my way straight over to a coffee shop called Nook Espresso and got a cup of Mocha that I could sip while watching the ocean for a while.

Burleigh Point is such a lovely area. I am sure that it will be my favorite spot to lay out and get my daily dose of Vitamin D. Nothing compares to laying on the grass while listening to the sound of the waves breaking on the shore.

I am absolutely in love with Burleigh. Everyone is so friendly and the coffee is delicious. The thing that has me head over heals is its’ natural beauty. I am so excited to live and breath in such a peaceful place and tranquil place.

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Soarin’ Flyin’ over to Oz

by | Aug 3, 2016 | Au Pair

So here I am. Sitting at gate 32 waiting for my flight to come. I am surrounded by kids screaming that I hope I won’t be sitting around for the next 6 hours as I make my way to LAX. Finding the terminal was a serious struggle for me and my dad today. Fun Fact: Newark doesn’t have a place for Virgin Australia, just Virgin America.
Anyways, I am excited right now. I am also nervous. I am also really starting to feel the weight of my decision to spend the next 6 months 15,900+ miles from everything and everyone I have ever known.

It’s still pretty surreal to me that it is actually happening. For now, I am just going to relax as much as I can, grab a bite to eat and then take off in phase one of my trip to Oz. P.S. Children’s Miracle Network and the Make-A-Wish Foundation are clearly following me since there are ads for both around my gate.