Sadly, my student visa expired on March 15th and I therefore had to either swap over to another visa or leave Australia and head back to the United States. Sadly though, I don't feel there is anything worthwhile for me back in the US (yet...) and have opted to stick around Australia and continue working while networking and scouring the world wide web for career choices and such.
The governmental system in Australia is absolutely ridiculous to say the least regarding visas for foreigners although I am told the American system is even worse. Because I have decided to apply for the PhD program at Bond University, I am waiting to hear back from the faculty to determine if I have been accepted or not. But because my visa for my masters degree is expired and EVEN THOUGH I may need to get on another student visa, I still had to leave the country and come back on a work visa. It is such a pain that I have to pay for my flight out of the country on top of a $270 visa only to have it for a week or two and having to leave the country again and get on another student visa (which is approximately $500 and thensome for flights).
So courtesy of my German friend Kim and her hospitable mother, I was able to head to New Zealand for a very short break and apply for an Australian work visa. So be sure to check out my New Zealand blog!
The work and holiday visa allows me to stay in Australia for up to a year and can be renewable once more at the end for another year. The purpose of the visa is to allow those in Australia to fund their traveling through work in Australia. I cannot study for longer than 4 months and I cannot work for the same employer for longer than 6 months. Unfortunately though, ABNs do not qualify for a work and holiday visa and must be applied for through a business visa. So any security work I do pick up, I have to be on the books with them and not issuing them an invoice every week. So far, so good!
Cheers and 再见！
-H
