plucka

Hi,
Quick question to anyone in the know. My girlfriend will be applying for a partner migration visa. Now I understand that she will initially get a 2 year temporary visa, correct?

My question is that while on this visa can she get a job in the Australian (or state) government as I think the requirement is that you must be citizen or have the right to remain in australia indefinatley- does this mean permanent resident? Are you considered a permanent resident in the 1st 2 years on such a visa?

Have any immigrants to Aus out there managed to get a job in the government in their 1st 2 years?

Thanks
Paul.

Jaj

    >On Tue, 20 Aug 2002 10:16:21 +0000, plucka <[email protected]> wrote:
    >Hi, Quick question to anyone in the know. My girlfriend will be applying for a
    >partner migration visa. Now I understand that she will initially get a 2 year
    >temporary visa, correct?

Yes.


    >My question is that while on this visa can she get a job in the Australian (or
    >state) government as I think the requirement is that you must be citizen or have the
    >right to remain in australia indefinatley- does this mean permanent resident?


For Federal government jobs, you need to be a citizen. State governments will usually
accept permanent residents too.

    > Are you considered a permanent resident in the 1st 2 years on such a visa?

No. But if you see a state government job you like, then it may be worth getting in
touch with them anyway. Often when they ask for 'permanent residents' it's because
they don't want to sponsor for a work permit. People on temporary spouse visas have
unrestricted work rights.

    >Have any immigrants to Aus out there managed to get a job in the government in their
    >1st 2 years? Thanks Paul.

Skilled immigrants arrive as permanent residents from Day 1, so their situation is
not directly comparable. The closest comparison would be New Zealand citizens.

Jeremy

Vidon

plucka <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
    > Hi, Quick question to anyone in the know. My girlfriend will be applying for a
    > partner migration visa. Now I understand that she will initially get a 2 year
    > temporary visa, correct?
    > My question is that while on this visa can she get a job in the Australian (or
    > state) government as I think the requirement is that you must be citizen or have
    > the right to remain in australia indefinatley- does this mean permanent resident?
    > Are you considered a permanent resident in the 1st 2 years on such a visa?
    > Have any immigrants to Aus out there managed to get a job in the government in
    > their 1st 2 years?

I am in the same situation as your girlfriend - arrived two years ago, married, and
am still on the two-year temporary visa. Thus far, I have worked for (1) an
Ombudsman that is independent from, but closely affiliated with, a Commonwealth
agency; (2) a state-owned business corporation (a quasi-privatised branch of state
government that still reports to state government); and (3) a local Council.

My experience has been that I will be asked at the interview whether I am a permanent
resident. I answer that I am married to an Australian citizen and must remain on a
temporary visa for two years until permanent residence can be granted. The
introductory statement that I have married a citizen seems to put employers at ease
(although my very first employer, who also required me to work rather extreme
overtime with no, used to worry out loud that the overtime would damage my
relationship with my husband and render me ineligible to work there... ;-P), and no
employer has worried about the "permanent residency" requirement often stated in
their position descriptions.

That said, I know that some state agencies have a policy that they will not offer
*permanent* positions to people who do not have permanent residence. Thus far, all
of my jobs have been specific-term contracts (although my current contract lasts for
three years), and it's possible that the imposition of defined contract terms may
reflect the fact that I'm not a permanent resident.

Also, it can be a bit difficult to "break into" government positions - there is an
understandable relunctance to believe that experience in the legal and institutional
environments of overseas governments will translate into the ability to work
effectively here. Many, many government positions require specific, demonstrable
experience with Australian laws, agencies, etc., and it can be quite difficult to get
the first job that opens the door to others. It's very likely, in my experience,
that you'll need to "take a step back" to a slightly less high-level position than
one that you held overseas, and then work your way back up.

By starting out with what were frankly not terribly attractive short-term contract
positions, over the course of eighteen months I was able to get myself into a
longer-term position that is still not quite what I was doing in the US, but that
offers a logical career path to what I like to do - and plenty of support for formal
training so that I can re-acquire credentials from Australian universities that I
hold in the US.

There were times during that initial eighteen months, though, when I was quite
frightened about whether I would ever again like my job, and whether I would ever be
able to convince employers here that I could do the same sorts of things here that I
did in the US. I was constantly on the job market, very aggressively, sending out
dozens of resumes a week for over a year - something I'd never had to do before
moving here. It eventually worked, but it definitely took concerted effort over an
extended period of time.