Australian Work & Holiday Visa

[absolute11]

Hello, sorry about this being the first post.

I've come here because of the seemingly total lack of information on the web about the work & holiday visa (subclass 462).

Basic information: My girlfriend (thai) is elligible for this visa subclass, and looking through the available options, it seems like something worth trying for, or at least getting as much info as possible. She's mid-20's (same as me) and has a degree in chemical engineering (2 years experience in the industry). She is also studying for and will have taken an IELTS test before the end of the financial year, when the visa quota resets.

I've got a few critical questions that hopefully can be answered:

How much demand is there for this visa subclass? Does an application need to be made on the date of the reset for there to be any chance?

*very important* The visa requirements stipulate $5000 or equivalent evidence of funds. She's currently paying off land for her folks, so her savings wouldn't be sufficient on her own for this year... I can give her the funds for the visa requirement, but i have a strong feeling this would be a fast way to a rejected application. If it helps, it can be in her account within a month, leaving 3 or so months of 25-40k baht of her own savings to be put on top of that.

I can guarentee a temporary position of employment (about 2-3 months) for the initial part of the working holiday. Would this be helpful?

Do i need to supply any supporting documentation, ala a tourist visa? (evidence of relationship, photos etc) I can't imagine it would be necessary for this visa subclass, but if it helps i can do it.

The last question is also pretty important:

If we follow through with applying for this visa for whatever reason, will it hurt subsequent visa applications if it's rejected? I could imagine it being tough even with a perfect application, considering the quota size is only 500 per year.

Thanks in advance.

[krisb]

Hi, not sure bout the work/holiday visa but holiday visa alone most of us know heaps about.

See how you go with others on the visa you seek, if that seems all to hard then we can help with a tourist visa no probs.

[oldsailor35]

What passport do you hold

[absolute11]

Austrialian passport and citizen for me.

[absolute11]

Hi, not sure bout the work/holiday visa but holiday visa alone most of us know heaps about.

See how you go with others on the visa you seek, if that seems all to hard then we can help with a tourist visa no probs.

Yeah, haha. I got a sense of that looking through some of the topics. The information on offer for a tourist visa is extensive.

*edit* sorry for the double post.

Edited March 6, 2013 by absolute11

[oldsailor35]

I very much doubt if they would care where the money comes from just as long as it is there, unlike Thailand

[absolute11]

I very much doubt if they would care where the money comes from just as long as it is there, unlike Thailand

Just to be thorough:

So if i (australian resident) were to drop $5000 into her (thai) bank account, the Australian embassy wouldn't care when submitting the application?

Sorry if i'm being a pain, but this is probably the point i'm most unsure about...

[oldsailor35]

I very much doubt if they would care where the money comes from just as long as it is there, unlike Thailand

Just to be thorough:

So if i (australian resident) were to drop $5000 into her (thai) bank account, the Australian embassy wouldn't care when submitting the application?

Sorry if i'm being a pain, but this is probably the point i'm most unsure about...

Suggest you make inquiry at the Aussie embassy as i know a guy who did this, no problems and she did not have any qualifications whatsoever, i think that you are being influenced by the backward attitude regarding income of the Thai's.

All the Australian govt want to know is that she is not arriving with no money in her bank, thus becoming a burden on Australia.

Edited March 6, 2013 by oldsailor35

[absolute11]

Thanks for that. Might give 'em a ring tomorrow. I'll push off to bed and see if there's any other info up in the morning.

[oldsailor35]

Thanks for that. Might give 'em a ring tomorrow. I'll push off to bed and see if there's any other info up in the morning.

goodnight and good luck, incidentially, that persons g/f was on a fiancee visa, and i have come across many of these, they are for 9 month entry and i believe can be repeated.

[absolute11]

Still looking for some more info. If none's forthcoming, I'll start looking into an agent for it. There seems to be very few that deal with it, and many of them don't seem all that confident in proceeding. I don't think even they get many requests for it. Does anyone have any info on the Siam Legal firm? They seem to be the most professional agency/ lawfirm that actually advertises the Work & holiday as a service.

[Will27]

Hi mate

Will try and give you some answers to your questions.

Demand: AFAIK, the demand on this subclass is not huge. Mainly due to the educational and financial requirements.

You can always contact the embassy in Bangkok to see where they are up to on the list of 500 (from Thailand).

Funds: As you've said, $5000 is generally the pass mark. As it's only the initial amount for the start of the holiday,

there shouldn't be a problem with you putting the money into her bank account. It's really no different than a relative

giving her the money. A lot of applicants wouldn't have that kind of money in the first place hence going on a "working holiday".

Job offer: You offering her a job for 2 to 3 months would have no relevance at all. It's expected she will holiday and look for work on

this subclass. To be honest, I would stay out of that side of it.

Supporting documentation: Not required. It's a "stand alone" visa which doesn't require your input. As above, best to stay out of it..

Visa refusal: In a word no. Being refused a visa will have no bearing on future applications. This is assuming she doesn't get the visa because she failed to meet the eligibility and not something fraudulent.

I can't help you with an agent but it can't hurt to contact a few and find out costs etc.

Hope this helps.

Regards

Will

Edited March 8, 2013 by Will27

[samran]

Still looking for some more info. If none's forthcoming, I'll start looking into an agent for it. There seems to be very few that deal with it, and many of them don't seem all that confident in proceeding. I don't think even they get many requests for it. Does anyone have any info on the Siam Legal firm? They seem to be the most professional agency/ lawfirm that actually advertises the Work & holiday as a service.

Getting an agent would be an absolute waste of time and money in this particular case. This is obviously a visa which is targeted at a certain demographic - young, well educated, financially stable, internationally curious with a certain level of english. You are either going to qualify or not. I'm not sure how an agent is going to change any of that.

When in doubt, always speak to the embassy. They are generally more than helpful in letting you know what you need etc before you submit the application.

[absolute11]

Thanks for the info Will, that's definitely helpful.

Just one other question:

My girlfriend has been a part of the design team re-engineering one of our machines, in the hopes that it can be manufactured in Thailand. My company director knows her personally, and has close ties with her managers/the company GM.

Discarding the temp work offer, would a letter of support from my boss, outlining the professional and friendly relationship of our companies, and an offer of assistance (if necessary) for accomodation/work be valuable, or should this go the way of the work offer, i.e. stay out of it?

(sorry if the answer's obvious, just thinking of anything that could help)

@ samran

The main reason i would consider an agent is that one of the criteria for this visa is getting a letter of recommendation from the Thai Office of Welfare Promotion, Protection and Empowerment of Vulnerable Groups in Bangkok. I've never really dealt with a Thai government agency before, and it may require the sitting of an interview, plus correspondence. If an agent has experience in doing this, I'd be a lot more confident in forking over cash to help the gf out, as i could easily be completely useless if there's any kind of complex procedures or public servant hoops to jump through, and i'm not physically there to help out.

Edited March 8, 2013 by absolute11

[absolute11]

Also, just to make it clear, the temp position offer stemmed from the large list of contacts i have with the hospitality industry from my uni days, not my company. I'm a firm believer in separating work and romantic relationships with an infinitely long pole .

Edited March 8, 2013 by absolute11

[samran]

Thanks for the info Will, that's definitely helpful.

Just one other question:

My girlfriend has been a part of the design team re-engineering one of our machines, in the hopes that it can be manufactured in Thailand. My company director knows her personally, and has close ties with her managers/the company GM.

Discarding the temp work offer, would a letter of support from my boss, outlining the professional and friendly relationship of our companies, and an offer of assistance (if necessary) for accomodation/work be valuable, or should this go the way of the work offer, i.e. stay out of it?

(sorry if the answer's obvious, just thinking of anything that could help)

@ samran

The main reason i would consider an agent is that one of the criteria for this visa is getting a letter of recommendation from the Thai Office of Welfare Promotion, Protection and Empowerment of Vulnerable Groups in Bangkok. I've never really dealt with a Thai government agency before, and it may require the sitting of an interview, plus correspondence. If an agent has experience in doing this, I'd be a lot more confident in forking over cash to help the gf out, as i could easily be completely useless if there's any kind of complex procedures or public servant hoops to jump through, and i'm not physically there to help out.

Thai agencies are pretty straight forward. Fill in the firm, copy of your ID card and house registration and they'll give you whatever you want...

And just while I'm at it, I'll save you $1000 for the lawyer.The website of the office of Welfare promotion with the forms you need to fill in and any other requirments.

http://www.opp.go.th/information_australia.php

I've never gone through this process myself obviously, and forgive me if this sounds harsh, but I'd expect that the embassy is going to be expecting a successful applicant to be able to figure these things out for themselves and figuring things out for themselves when they get there (in English..). WHV's are pretty much designed for people who are independently minded given they are going to go to Australia for a year. Being too stage managed on these things might backfire. But just my two cents.

Either way, good luck with it all.

Edited March 8, 2013 by samran

[absolute11]

Thanks for the info Will, that's definitely helpful.

Just one other question:

My girlfriend has been a part of the design team re-engineering one of our machines, in the hopes that it can be manufactured in Thailand. My company director knows her personally, and has close ties with her managers/the company GM.

Discarding the temp work offer, would a letter of support from my boss, outlining the professional and friendly relationship of our companies, and an offer of assistance (if necessary) for accomodation/work be valuable, or should this go the way of the work offer, i.e. stay out of it?

(sorry if the answer's obvious, just thinking of anything that could help)

@ samran

The main reason i would consider an agent is that one of the criteria for this visa is getting a letter of recommendation from the Thai Office of Welfare Promotion, Protection and Empowerment of Vulnerable Groups in Bangkok. I've never really dealt with a Thai government agency before, and it may require the sitting of an interview, plus correspondence. If an agent has experience in doing this, I'd be a lot more confident in forking over cash to help the gf out, as i could easily be completely useless if there's any kind of complex procedures or public servant hoops to jump through, and i'm not physically there to help out.

Thai agencies are pretty straight forward. Fill in the firm, copy of your ID card and house registration and they'll give you whatever you want...

And just while I'm at it, I'll save you $1000 for the lawyer.The website of the office of Welfare promotion with the forms you need to fill in and any other requirments.

http://www.opp.go.th/information_australia.php

I've never gone through this process myself obviously, and forgive me if this sounds harsh, but I'd expect that the embassy is going to be expecting a successful applicant to be able to figure these things out for themselves and figuring things out for themselves when they get there (in English..). WHV's are pretty much designed for people who are independently minded given they are going to go to Australia for a year. Being too stage managed on these things might backfire. But just my two cents.

Either way, good luck with it all.

All good mate, No offence taken. It became very clear early on when assessing to go down this path that I would serve primarily as a support mechanism. I'm just trying to fill that role as well as i can, and be as thorough as possible. As I said earlier, the agent would only be necessary if we were hamstrung by not having enough information to be confident. Both you and Will have given solid advice, and is much appreciated

[Will27]

Thanks for the info Will, that's definitely helpful.

Just one other question:

My girlfriend has been a part of the design team re-engineering one of our machines, in the hopes that it can be manufactured in Thailand. My company director knows her personally, and has close ties with her managers/the company GM.

Discarding the temp work offer, would a letter of support from my boss, outlining the professional and friendly relationship of our companies, and an offer of assistance (if necessary) for accomodation/work be valuable, or should this go the way of the work offer, i.e. stay out of it?

(sorry if the answer's obvious, just thinking of anything that could help)

@ samran

The main reason i would consider an agent is that one of the criteria for this visa is getting a letter of recommendation from the Thai Office of Welfare Promotion, Protection and Empowerment of Vulnerable Groups in Bangkok. I've never really dealt with a Thai government agency before, and it may require the sitting of an interview, plus correspondence. If an agent has experience in doing this, I'd be a lot more confident in forking over cash to help the gf out, as i could easily be completely useless if there's any kind of complex procedures or public servant hoops to jump through, and i'm not physically there to help out.

No probs mate

Glad I could help.

As far as your other question highlighted above.

There's nothing to say she can't have an offer BUT I wouldn't do it.

It almost sounds as if the work aspect of it is taking priority over the holiday part

when the visa is not designed for that.

What is generally expected is that the work supplements the holiday so people do a

bit of fruit picking, casual labour etc.

Getting formal offers for work/accomodation MIGHT set alarm bells off that she is coming

to OZ for work only when the visa is not designed for that.

Again, it's up to her/you, but I wouldn't do it. If she meets the criterion, she won't need any of that.

Regards

Will

[absolute11]

Thanks for the info Will, that's definitely helpful.

Just one other question:

My girlfriend has been a part of the design team re-engineering one of our machines, in the hopes that it can be manufactured in Thailand. My company director knows her personally, and has close ties with her managers/the company GM.

Discarding the temp work offer, would a letter of support from my boss, outlining the professional and friendly relationship of our companies, and an offer of assistance (if necessary) for accomodation/work be valuable, or should this go the way of the work offer, i.e. stay out of it?

(sorry if the answer's obvious, just thinking of anything that could help)

@ samran

The main reason i would consider an agent is that one of the criteria for this visa is getting a letter of recommendation from the Thai Office of Welfare Promotion, Protection and Empowerment of Vulnerable Groups in Bangkok. I've never really dealt with a Thai government agency before, and it may require the sitting of an interview, plus correspondence. If an agent has experience in doing this, I'd be a lot more confident in forking over cash to help the gf out, as i could easily be completely useless if there's any kind of complex procedures or public servant hoops to jump through, and i'm not physically there to help out.

No probs mate

Glad I could help.

As far as your other question highlighted above.

There's nothing to say she can't have an offer BUT I wouldn't do it.

It almost sounds as if the work aspect of it is taking priority over the holiday part

when the visa is not designed for that.

What is generally expected is that the work supplements the holiday so people do a

bit of fruit picking, casual labour etc.

Getting formal offers for work/accomodation MIGHT set alarm bells off that she is coming

to OZ for work only when the visa is not designed for that.

Again, it's up to her/you, but I wouldn't do it. If she meets the criterion, she won't need any of that.

Regards

Will

That's a fair point, and strangely enough the same sentiment was running through my head as was writing it.

I won't include it in the visa application, but it may prove valuable in getting a letter from the OWPP, based on their website. If there's evidence that she has connections in Aus, it might strengthen her case in getting the government reccomendation. I'll mull it over and talk with the girlfriend about it.

I'll keep this thread updated for anyone else considering an application, as i don't think there's one up here on thaivisa.

*edit* the letter itself wouldn't even be close to offering formal accomodation/work, more like a safety net if she ran into trouble. How that would be interpreted by a migration officer is another matter entirely, however.

Edited March 8, 2013 by absolute11

[fire and ice]

I very much doubt if they would care where the money comes from just as long as it is there, unlike Thailand

Just to be thorough:

So if i (australian resident) were to drop $5000 into her (thai) bank account, the Australian embassy wouldn't care when submitting the application?

Sorry if i'm being a pain, but this is probably the point i'm most unsure about...

Suggest you make inquiry at the Aussie embassy as i know a guy who did this, no problems and she did not have any qualifications whatsoever, i think that you are being influenced by the backward attitude regarding income of the Thai's.

All the Australian govt want to know is that she is not arriving with no money in her bank, thus becoming a burden on Australia.

Get her to call the embassy to say she doesn't have that much cash but has $5000/enough in gold - "Do I need to sell the gold and put the cash in my account?" then its a good reason as to why that much cash suddenly shows up in her account.