mandi_weir

Hi there,

I am new to the forum and have found some related posts to the issue I have, but I am still confused.

Basically my plan was to leave my work/life in Scotland to go to Australia on a working holiday visa for one year in April 2011...easy enough! But when I informed my boss she said that because of the work/projects I am involved in would I consider remaining employed on a part-time basis while I am in Australia. I will be part time because part of the reason I wanted to visit Australia was to travel and see the country so I insisted that I will only work for 6 months of the year in total.

Anyway the set-up will be that I work remotely for my UK employer on half-time pay for the whole year. As I will be leaving at the end of April/May I will be a registered taxpayer in the UK for the financial year 2011/2012 so my understanding is that I will be taxed in the UK. I have still to confirm this with the tax office but i'm on the case.

So my biggest issue is trying to figure out what visa I am eligible for. I guess the working holiday visa is not possible anymore, because I won't actually be working for an Australian employer and my contract runs for the whole year and not the maximum of 6 months. So would it be an overseas employer sponsored visa that I need to get?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers,
Amanda ;o)

gr8leo87

you can be on a visit visa and work for ur UK employer for all that matter in australia.

As far as u dont work for an aussi company or a company with operations registered in australia u dont need a work visa.

Bermudashorts

OP might very well get away with your suggestion, but this doesn't mean it is legal. OP seems to be looking for a legal route.

gr8leo87

how is it illegal? Its just like visiting your family in another country and doing some work in the side for your own employer.

He wudn't qualify for a work visa because no employer is involved, the only employer involve is english for whom the OP doesn't require a visa.

OP wudn't qualify for a business visa either because no australian business is involved either.

May be if OP is a geologist, or a photographer artist..but still then we see photographers carry out their work on visit visas all the time and so does the journalist because no local business is involved.

Dorothy

On a tourist visa you are not allowed to work. Simple as. It makes no differeence whether the company is based in Australia, he is not allowed to work.

Bermudashorts

How is it illegal? It is illegal because somebody on a tourist visa is not allowed to work / earn money. End of.

I don't go overseas to visit my family and do some work and even if I did, my family are in the UK and Ireland and I would be perfectly entitled to work.

Are you sure foreign journalists etc are on visitor visas? I expect they are not.

gr8leo87

ok. So what kinda visa would OP be looking it?

gr8leo87

If you say blanket restriction on work then I'd agree. But every law has its own detailed explanation. Work could be characterized as something giving a financial benefit to the worker, to the employer, or to either.

Here, if we assume, that there's no blanket restriction then technically there's no worker, no employer, and no financial benefit as far australia's economy is concerned.

I'm not too sure, but I'd like an answer myself too. My initial understanding was the OP wudn't require a work visa because he cudn't get one because there's no sponsoring employer.

Dorothy

One which would allow him to work. Such as a working holiday visa or short stay business visa.

Sherlock Holmes

Hi and welcome to the forum. I'm sorry that you've had some conflicting advice but please listen to Dorothy and Bermuda. They know what they are talking about. Tourist visas in any event, as far as I know, are only valid for three months.

Bermudashorts

Being unable to get a visa that allows one to work does not mean that a visa is not required.

gr8leo87

I don't think this is as simple as just saying that. A work visa has its own set of taxation consequences. In a documented economy there are more typicalities than just that.

Working holiday visa people work for an australian employer, generate income for australia and pay income taxes. And same apply to other work visa holders.

As far as this particular case is concerned although the service is produced in Australia, it contributes nothing to the Australian economy, and the work is not even documented.

To document this, OH would probably need to register an Aussi business and provide his services under that business, so his income is taxed in Australia. Which is not going to be the case.

The point is that the generation of this financial benefit to the employer is NOT because of the employee's presence in Australia, or because of Australia at all. Being in Australia IS NOT A REQUIREMENT to perform this work, neither anything to do with Australia is involved in this. What I do on my personal visit is my own as far as I DONT GENERATE INCOME FROM AUSTRALIA THROUGH AUSTRALIA.

Do you realise that in Investment Banking, just saying a YES can make me million of dollars in incomes and bonuses. So while I'm at a leisure visit in Australia, I strike a business deal on Phone by saying YES (I technically worked), I did something illegal? And I'm even barred from making business deals while I'm on a leisure visit to Australia? Just because I feel I might strike a deal while I'm in Australia on a leisure visit, I should arrange my self a work visa? Beats the hell out of me.

I don't even need a business visa if an australian business is not involved. Alot of business meetings take place all around the world. Two companies one from America and one from England can meet up in Australia to discuss and work out their deals. Are they all going to need WORK PERMITS to have their meetings? I don't think so.

Either this is more complicated than you and I think, or we are just making it more complicated than it is.

Say for example, I run an internet company, which I manage from all around the world and I'm on the move almost all the time visit all around the world for my business purposes.. am I gonna have to get WORK PERMITS from every country that I'm going to visit?

If I setup a business in Australia, and provide services, and be doing it for a long long time and generating my income in which Australia is incidental then yeah probably what you are saying is right.

If the OP doesn't receive his income in Australia and continue to receive in his UK account I don't believe there's anything illegal in there.

Bermudashorts

You cannot live and work on a tourist visa.

What part of that do you not understand.

gr8leo87

ok sorry for the long post. I realise that I am going to need a work visa. went through the website.

gr8leo87

So it appears the OP cannot work for the UK employer in Australia at all. The only option is Employer Sponsored. For which his employer will have to become a sponsor first and nominate an occupation for which the employer will be sponsoring and all that formalities. Which would be a 457 visa. Which I won't think would be so easy and quick?

The other option would working holiday for which the OP won't be able to work for the employer more than 6 months.