Hi all,

Just discovered this website and pretty much looking for any advice if possible!!
My daughter and I are looking to possibly to go to Australia for a 6 month trial soon - hopefully leading to permanent residency - but have no idea where to stay or really any clue at all on Australia.
She is 16 so will be needing an area which isn't like a ghost town or too lively and I am looking for work as a nurse. Schooling wont be an issue as she will have completed high school by then.
Sorry if this is a lot of info, just v.eager to get visas etc rolling!!

Thanks,
Susan

We had to choose where to live based on job opportunities which were very much limited to Sydney for my OH. As a nurse you can pick anywhere you like and I am sure that any of the major cities will provide plenty for a teenager to do.

So your question really is very broad. The next five people to comment could all name a different major city and none of the answers is going to be more valid or appropriate to you than any other because you are a stranger on the internet.

What do you mean by 6 month trial by the way? i.e. what visa are you thinking of trialing on?

Yeah, that's very true!! She is looking to go to university herself so probably a city would be best for her.
I mean that we would at first come over for an initial 6 month stay to help us decide if we wanted to permanently stay. Don't want to give up everything at home then want to come back, although I doubt we would just in case.
Just another wee question what is the driving age? Or does it vary per region.

If you can apply straight away for PR then you'd be in a far better position with regards to your daughter going to Uni. International fees would be applicable on temporary residency making a 3 year degree something around AUD 50k.

Yes but what visa are you thinking of for a six month stay? If you just get a toursit visa, then it won't be like real life anyway as you won't be able to work or study and it would be harder to meet people without that.

I'm not sure need to look into it a lot more as I say we don't really have very much information on visas etc. It's only really been discussed over the the past few weeks so not it isn't even a set in stone decision

A good place to start is here: http://www.immi.gov.au/

You do realise you can't just come to Aus on a whim and find work here don't you mate?

To come to Aus to live for 6 months you need a visa. You can't just get on a plane and land here with no visa and all visa's have conditions attached. If you choose a holiday visa you won't be able to work here. As a nurse you won't have a problem getting a skilled visa which will enable you to work however you need to get the visa before you come to Aus and there is a process you need to follow.

In a nutshell you need to do some work to decide which visa will enable you to move here and the best place to start is the DIAC website here http://www.immi.gov.au/

Good luck mate

If your daughter is 16 I'm assuming she's only done GCSEs not her A Levels? If so she'll need to do some more study prior to Uni (TAFE or school).

Good luck.

Your daughter is probably going to struggle at 16 because she hasnt finished school according to Australian rules. She would need to be at least 17 and if she had any sort of aspiration to go to university then she would need her year 12 certificate which is a culmination of 2 years of study and most kids are just 16 when they start - so all depending where you go and what visa you go on, you could be up for $5 - $10k pa for her schooling alone. If she has finished A levels (which seems unlikely given her age) then she could easily use them for Aus uni entry.

I dont really think this is as easy as you envisage - IMHO get her A levels under her belt and then have a look at the possibilities.

Given that they are in Scotland A levels aren't an issue.

In Scotland you can pass exams for university entrance at 16 - I went to uni at 17 with 16 year olds!

I don't know how Scottish secondary qualifications are treated by Australian universities.

It might not be an issue in Scottland but in Aus most uni's want to see OP scores and that someone has finished school at 18 as opposed to 16.
However given the student has come from overseas they might accept equivelent overseas scores

The cost associated with uni fees is likely to be more of a concern which needs looking into too.

Well I stayed at high school for the full length possible and left aged 17.5...so it would never be possible to show I left school at 18!

Staying at high school for the 6th year doesn't necessarily lead to any higher level of study...just more of the same. I tell a lie, I did do a Scotvec module in 'music making solo I and II'!

Here's an example:

http://www.international.mq.edu.au/a...qualifications

They list SCE highers as recognised qualifications...I had these at 16.