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We have seen a number of visa changes with the start of the new financial year. Changes to Work and Holiday visas, an Indian – Australia agreement, Australian citizenship for New Zealand nationals will all make it easier to come and live and work in Australia. One pathway that sometimes gets a bad rapt is sponsorship. Speller recently went through the process with Recruitment Consultant Catherine Challes. 

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*Please remember these are Catherine’s tips and suggestions, if you're in a position to be sponsored, we always recommend speaking to an expert to get their professional advice before starting the process. 

Catherine, originally from the UK has recently gone through the sponsorship process and is now enjoying life on a 482 meaning she can enjoy another 2 years in Australia! 

We sat down with Catherine to get her top tips on navigating the sponsorship process as a candidate. Stay tuned for next month's blog on the client process and Speller’s top tips on how to go about sponsoring. 

What Visa? 

​Figure out what visa you ACTUALLY need! There are so many different types of visas, I would recommend reading all the requirements before assuming you need a specific ‘type.’

​I confess to being slightly usure what visa was required post working holiday, I was also unsure if I needed to do farm work in order to stay in Australia. Thankfully Speller and the immigration lawyer knew exactly what visa was required and guided me through this process. 

I think it's extremely important to understand the different requirements, for example on my visa now farm work is no longer required – this was not the case when I entered the country. Changes to immigration law happen frequently, so ensure you’re reading up to date legislation / or get advice - don’t rely on information from others who may have been through the process historically! 

Get professional Advice

​Spend the money and get some professional advice, this will be worth its weight in gold and make the whole process quicker and more efficient! We used a fantastic immigration lawyer, she made sure all the documentation went above and beyond what was needed. She made sure that everything met the reference and formatting standard. 

​An expert or immigration lawyer will be able to assist with; 

• Which visa to apply for 

• Exact documents needed 

• Where to obtain each requirement, ie. Police check etc.

• Assist with a bridging visa and what it would mean to you 

• How and where to pay for your visa 

Preparation is key

​Collecting the documentation required was nowhere near as simple as it first appeared, a birth certificate sounds like an obvious one but when was the last time you saw yours? Another example isif you have a partner who you intend to put onto your visa you may need receipts / historical pictures of your relationship and an extensive number of these. I also needed not just a degree certificate but also a breakdown of the course I studied; this required me to contact the university I was at over 8 years ago, and I had no connections there anymore. We were also required to undergo a police check; in both Australia and the UK (our origin) all of this took time! 

​Character references were also required, again these needed to be formatted into PDF’s and signed.  

Be patient

​You will end up going back and forth with different forms, making changes and modifications – it’s going to be a frustrating process but worth it in the end! 

​Make sure you pay for your visa – this process can be a little confusing, refer to your Immi Account. The immigration lawyer cannot do this for you and there were a couple of different payment instructions – make sure you pay via the right method and for the service YOU need. 

New visa changes 

​Finally, understand what changes when you are on the new visa. For example if you’re now on a resident visa, does your tax status change, do you have access to Medicare and what driving license you may need. Make sure you communicate these with your employer and accountant to ensure you aren’t being taxed at a higher rate than expected, I for example had to submit a new TFN declaration. 

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Catherine has provided some great tips on how to go about the sponsorship process. We’ll touch base with Renee and Judy who were involved in the process from the Speller side in next months blog and get their tips and suggestions if you, as a company are thinking about sponsoring.

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