sfrancesdonnelly

hi could any one please give any advice on studying hairdressing in melbourne at a private college iam 39 years old and would like to study on a 2year visa . Also my partner and son aged 12 years old would like to join me in oz as anyone tried this before? we have family already living in melbourne and have been out there in 2003 . But we need to know the pitfalls applying from the uk any more advice or help would be great thanks

lissylee

Carpentry

I'm a builder / Property Developer here in Perth... Move to Perth and advertise your services in the local COMMUNITY newspaper and your phone will not stop ringing.. I Gaurantee it.. You have to stop trying to be so official here in Australia. You can do any work up to $12k and you kly have to be registered for plumbing and electrics... oh and the painters will have there say aswell..

Most work here in WA will be Door hanging.. to steel frames as there mostly bricked in with 90mm blocks. WIR fitouts aswell.. Kitchens could be worth a go...

shears

Hi - welcome to BE! You don't seem to have had any useful replies to your posts yet - hope this can help!

First of all, use the Search button at the top - you'll find a huge amount of information on Student Visas - look on the Hairdressing forum as well to see if there's information on that. You'll be doing a lot of reading.

I'm assuming neither of you have skills to apply for a visa - have you checked with an agent? Search on here for recommended agents - there are a few with good reputations who also post on here and most of them will offer a free assessment.

One of the major drawbacks of the student visa route is the expense involved - as well as your college fees (approx $20-22K for the 2 years) you would have to pay for school fees for your son - not sure what this would cost for a state school, but could range from about $8K to $12K for each year (depends on whether state or private school). So education fees alone you're looking at approx $40-$45K.

Then you need to add in the cost of your visa application, medical exams for 3 of you, private health insurance (which you have to take out to cover the 3 of you), flights, accommodation, whether you're shipping anything over (furniture or pets!!).

The other drawback of the student visa route is there is no guarantee of getting permanent residency at the end of your studies - there are rule changes coming in at the start of September this year that may affect you - check out this thread for further info on this : http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=440240

Another poster, Paul (who is over in Brisbane at the moment, I think about half way through his hairdressing course) has a thread about the student visa process - http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=437203

Visit immi.gov.au for more info on visa types, points tests etc

And check out this site for info on study in Australia - http://studyinaustralia.gov.au

I don't want you to think I'm being negative but there is so much involved with this - it's a major move! But we seem to be very similar in our setups - I'm 39 (not for long!), hubby 42 (driver!), 2 kids (plus dog) and are hoping to head out there doing this ourselves this year as it's our only chance of getting in to Oz.

Best of luck - keep searching and keep asking questions - hopefully you'll find it a useful experience (and not too addictive )

sfrancesdonnelly

Hi thanks very much for your message it was nice to hear from someone thinking
of doing the same thing. Have you got any info on what the colleges are actually like in Oz are there many english mature students doing Hairdressing?

Do they give any help with your 20 hrs a week work . Do you think it would be poss to get a job after only 2 years trainning? I would look on the trip as
a gap year if we didn't get pr at the end of it . But Im sure once you actually get into oz you can do a lot more research. Any more advice or help would ber great...........

goingozwards2007

Hi , We are off in July to Brisbane doing much the same thing, Me 36, Oh 39, 2 x boys, 12 and 10. We are really aware of the costs and are happy to take this route. OH is going to try and get sponsored for a job once we have been there 3 months, if not we will just rely on getting my training done, and then the work experience which may be needed after.
We are under no illusions that we may not get a PR, but nothing ventured nothing gained!!
Good luck with finding out about everything and PM me if you have any other questins which i can help with.

ALI B

HI THERE

SORRY ITS TAKEN ME SO LONG TO REPLY, IVE BEEN AWAY ON HOLIDAY. FIRSTLY, I APPLIED TO THE BRISBANE SCHOOL OF HAIRDRESSING AND FILLED IN THE APPLICATION FOR ENROLLEMENT AND SIGNED THE COLLEGE RULES AND I PAID A DEPOSIT BY CREDIT CARD TO THEM FOR $1000 PLUS $1300 MEDICAL INSURANCE FOR 2 YEARS FAMILY COVER. AFTER THIS THEY SENT A SILLY TEST TO SIT AND IT MUST BE MEANT FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO CAN NOT SPEAK ENGLISH!! AFTER THIS I WAITED FOR ABOUT 4 WEEKS AND THEY EMAILED ME MY eCOE WHICH IS WHAT YOU NEED TO APPLY FOR YOUR STUDENT VISA, WHICH I DECIDED TO DO ONLINE.
I COMPLETED THE VISA APP ONLINE WHICH TOOK ABOUT 45MIN AND WAS VERY STRAIGHT FORWARD AS IT DIRECTS YOU TO WHAT TO DO NEXT.
IT ASKED ME TO DOWNLOAD MEDICAL FORMS AND REFERRAL LETTERS FOR ALL OF US AND BOOK OUR MEDS AND CHEST XRAYS, WHICH I DID AND ACTUALLY WENT FOR THEM ON MON 30TH APRIL.
THEY ALSO ASKED ME TO POST CERTIFIED COPIES OF MY SONS BIRTH CERT, MY MARRIAGE CERT, PASSPORTS OF ALL US AND THE eCOE OHH AND THE POLICE CHECKS.
I HAVE RECIEVED AN EMAIL FROM THEM NOW SAYING THEY ARE JUST WAITING TO RECIEVE THE RESULTS OF THE MEDICAL ASSESSMENTS TO MAKE THEIR DECISION.
SO FAR SO BLOODY GOOD ME HOPES AND IT HAS BEEN VERY EASY TO DO IT ALL MYSELF AND ONLINE WHICH IS QUICKER AS YOU CAN TRACK YOUR PROGRESS OF YOUR APP!!!
I HOPE THIS INFO HELPS YOU AND AGAIN I APPOLOGISE FOR TAKING SO LONG TO REPLY.
IF YOU NEED ANY OTHER INFO JUST ASK OR PM ME.

ALI B

sambo76

Hi there

I have just had my Student Visa approved and my flights are booked for Tuesday!!! Having a small break in Thailand and start my course on 28 May at the Brisbane School of Hairdressing on the Gold Coast. Soooooooo excited!!

ALI B

WELL DONE
THAT IS SUPER NEWS. I'LL HOPEFULLY BUMP INTO YOU THEN COZ MINES SHOULD START 23 JULY!!! IM JUST WAITIN TO HEAR IF IVE GOT THE STUDENT VISA NOW. THEN IF I HAVE IM GOIN TO BOOK FLIGHTS FOR 25TH JUN HOPEFULLY. HAVE YOU A FAMILY TO TAG ALONG ALSO?

CONGRATS ALI B

sambo76

Its just me and my boyfriend...and it's my last day of work today as well!!

Good luck with your visa - should only take a few days to come through -

See you in July for a nice cold beer

ALI B

SOUNDS GOOD!
HOW LONG DID IT TAKE FOR YOU TO GET AN APPROVAL AFTER YOU HAD YOUR MEDS ? HAVE YOU HAD ANY LUCK FINDING RENTABLE ACCOM OR WHATEVA?
IM JUST REAL EXCITED NOW AND GETTIN IMPATIENT!!!
ALI B

sambo76

WE had our medicals done in January so once we applied and scanned over our documents to Perth it was only a few days till we got the visa!!

We have found accomodation with www.seqrents.com.au. Have paid deposits and all sorted to move in on 1 June - hotels until then. Its on Chevron Island. Really excited now, only a few days unitl we fly!!!