If you study abroad in Australia on a student visa, then you will be allowed to take on a temporary job. Depending on your student visa type, you and your dependent members will be allowed a certain number of work hours once your course in the Australian college or university commences.

As there are limitations to the work you can take on, you may find it difficult to find employment on a temporary basis. Here are some tips you can follow when searching for a job while enrolled in an Australia university:

• Go to sites that specialize in part-time jobs, temporary work or seasonal work. Some job sites also offer a mix of both full-time and temporary work.
• When you find an employer, do your research. Call their office or visit their website. You should also look for articles and even reviews from employees (if these are available), this would give you a clue about how life is in that kind of work environment.
• Polish your resume. Even as an international student, you should have a basic resume that lists any work experience or extra-curricular activities you may have that the employer might find useful.
• Be prepared for the interview. Dress properly. Make a list of general interview questions and your answers. Practice your greetings and your thank-you spiel. Be confident and be yourself.
• If you are hired by the company, make sure you get it in writing. Even a temporary or a part-time job should have a contract. This ensures that your work is duly recognized and that you are properly compensated for it. This can also serve as evidence that you are complying with the limited hours allowed for work while you are enrolled in an Australian school.
• Enjoy the experience. You may find that life in an Australian University is so different from the working world. You should learn to balance both and enjoy both worlds.

About National Visas:

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It might seem surreal for international students who study abroad in Australia but culture shock actually happens to a lot of people. Culture shock comes in different forms for different people. It’s usually the anxiety you feel as someone who is adjusting to a new, unfamiliar environment. This is magnified even more as a new student in a different country.

Australian universities and colleges are known for offering a more progressive kind of education environment, such that free thinking is encouraged. This may not always be the case in other countries, as such, that adds up to the adjustment that you need to do on top of adjusting to the new country you’re in.

Common symptoms of culture shock include feeling frustrated, anxious, angry, sad, lonely or irritable. You may feel lost as if you don’t have direction in your life. This even manifests in your health with some people experiencing aches, pains and insomnia. There’s generally a lack of confidence and insecurity. At the peak of culture shock, there’s a tendency to question your decision to study abroad in Australia.

This emotional rollercoaster can be dealt with integrating yourself in the culture and by emotionally preparing for the move. So, before you study abroad in Australia, prepare yourself by:

• Reading about the country and the culture before you leave
• Reading the Australian school’s literature on what to expect
• Familiarising yourself with the local customs
• Learning the language. Take courses if this is necessary.
• Being open-minded to change.
• Keeping in contact with family and friends back home
• Making new friends in Australia
• Exercising patience.
• Maintaining confidence despite challenges that may come along the way.

Sooner or later, everything will be okay again. If the feeling of sadness or loneliness gets to you, you can try planning for something that would excite you. A holiday or a road trip with your new friends, perhaps? Once you get over the first few bumps and hiccups of moving to a new country, you’ll find that the new culture feels as much your own as your old one.

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If you are currently enrolled in an Australian school under a student visa and you suddenly decide to make changes with your current choices, there are is a process that you need to follow. As you the months pass by and you get used to your Australian college, university or school, you might discover the need to change. This is perfectly normal and happens as part of your adjustment to life in Australia.

If you simply want to change your course at the same level of qualification, you do not need to apply for a new Australian student visa. However, if you want to change your level of qualification, then a new student visa is required. For instance, if you want to change from an Australian university diploma degree to a PhD, your visa subclass will change.

If you plan on changing your Australian school, then you have to contact your existing education provider. In the past, the “no change of provider” condition (8206) was being enforced. This restricted the Australian student visa holder from changing Australian schools within the first 12 months of their main course. This condition has ceased to have effect since July 1, 2007.

Even though students are no longer required to lodge an application to the department to change their education provider, most Australian schools will be restricted from enrolling you if you have not completed at least 6 months of study for which your Australian visa was granted. If you still want to pursue changing your education provider before completing the six months, you must first secure permission form your current education provider.

Once you have completed the change of education provider, you must contact the department to inform them of the change. You will need to provide your new Confirmation of Enrolment certificate for your new Australian school.

About National Visas:

Let your situation professionally assessed. Consult with us, please do not hesitate to contact us via telephone, video chat, email, fax or in person.

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If you are planning to study abroad in Australia, one of the biggest favors you can do yourself is to set the right expectations. This would help you avoid disappointment or much worse, not being able to adjust to your new life.

Studying in another country is already a big challenge in itself. This becomes more difficult if you’re changing education levels – such as moving from your local high school to an Australian college. You need to know this early on and you need to be emotionally prepared to handle the change.

The most successful international students are those who know of their potential challenges from the very beginning. Before your course in your Australian college or university commences, do as much research as you can. Find out things about the school, its culture and the diversity of the population from the school’s website. If it’s possible, you should try to make a campus visit before your course starts. Take the opportunity to join orientations or school tours and ask questions that you think would help you adjust better.

Take care of all the physical preparations early. Enroll in your courses and move your stuff to a closer accommodation if necessary. This way, you’ll be able to know ahead of time if there is anything else you might need once you start studying.

Finally, one of the challenges new student visa holders often overlook is the change in your existing relationships. While it may seem negative, you should expect that distance from your friends can cause you to grow apart. This is true even for romantic relationships. It takes balance and understanding for you to be able to maintain a long-distance relationship. The strain of studying while adjusting to a new environment must be factored in when considering this.

Nothing can prepare you for the loneliness of separation from what is familiar, be it family, friends, food or the place you hang out in. If you know of these challenges before making a big decision like studying abroad in Australia, then you might be able to do something about it. You can join a social support network or international student groups – there’s bound to be someone out there who has been through a similar experience and can help you cope with the challenges.

About National Visas:

Let your situation professionally assessed. Consult with us, please do not hesitate to contact us via telephone, video chat, email, fax or in person.

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If you’re one of the thousands of international students who left your home country to study abroad in Australia, then by now, you probably know a lot about the country and enjoyed its sights and sounds. Aside from the time you spent in your Australian university, college or school, there is a bigger and brighter world outside the walls of your education provider.

Some students opt to extend their say beyond the eligibility of their Australian visa. There are hundreds of reasons to do this and some legal ways to stay in the country. This is especially true if you do not have a “No Further Stay” condition on your Australia visa.

Some of the more common reason for extending your stay while on a student visa is to continue your studies. Others in the higher education sector need to extend to have their PhD thesis assessed. If this is the case, then all that you need to do is to apply for a new student visa. There are different Australian visa options available for students. There are visas for English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS), primary or secondary school, vocational education and training, higher education, postgraduate research, non-award, AusAID and Defence and visas for Student Guardians.

You may also want to extend your stay to attend your graduation ceremony or simply to have a holiday. For this, you need to apply for an Australian tourist visa or a visitors visa. Others choose to extend their stay in Australia to work. This requires a workers visa. There’s a special type of visa that mixes both business and leisure and this is the working holiday visa. This allows you to stay in Australia to spend the holidays, at the same time allowing you to take on temporary work that lets you earn enough to pay for you vacation.

Finally, there are some students who want to extend their stay and become permanent residents in Australia. To do this, one must apply to become a permanent resident under the General Skilled Migration program.

About National Visas:

Let your situation professionally assessed. Consult with us, please do not hesitate to contact us via telephone, video chat, email, fax or in person.

See more student visa requirements.

Take an Australian student visa assessment now.