After school, many people do not go straight to university or to an apprenticeship. A wonderful way to take such time off and also to finance it is Work& Travel.
Translated it means as much as work and travel, which describes the core of the matter quite aptly. For a certain period of time, you get the opportunity to work in a country and earn money. This usually involves taking jobs that don't keep you in one place for too long. For example, you can work for a month, then travel for a month and then work again in another place.
A Work& Travel Visa for Australia
In Australia it is not difficult to get an appropriate visa. You can apply online at the immigration office by filling out a form. The rest is done electronically, which eliminates the need to go to an embassy or consulate. It is to be noted, however, that one must prove a fortune of 3000 euros if necessary with the entry. Arrived in Australia, you get a tax number, it is very uncomplicated and you can start looking for a job. The visa is valid for one year and entitles you to 6 months of paid work. You are allowed to stay with the same employer for a maximum of 3 months. If you have worked long enough in particularly remote areas, you can extend your visa for another year.
Finding a job in Australia
In bigger cities the hostels are the best places to go to. On the bulletin boards you can usually find offers. Especially numerous in the metropolises are jobs in the service sector or as street vendors. If you have a completed education, you can also try to find a job in the corresponding field. Outside the cities, fruit picking is the classic work&travel activity Travel Job. On farms you can help with harvesting, weeding and all other kinds of work. Depending on the size and type of farm, there is something else to do. When looking for a job, there is a government hotline that can put you in touch with other people. Otherwise, there are also more often hostels in small towns with bulletin boards, or you can just go to the local market and talk directly to the farmers.
The payment
The payment is often very different. But for many jobs it is around 10$ per hour. Especially on farms you may be paid per kilo of harvested fruit. Here it is often necessary to be especially careful, because otherwise at the end of a 10 hour day you will only have 30$. It also depends on what the farms offer additionally. Large farms often specialize in backpackers and have simple accommodations set up for them. You should also check with hostels that offer to help you find a job. Often you will work for them and still end up paying for accommodation on top.
All in all Australia is a good place for this kind of travel. To see everything, you may need a year. Despite some black sheep, most employers are friendly and fair.
Work& Travel Australia Visa
Students or young people can spend a tourist stay of up to twelve months in Australia with a so-called working holiday visa and work legally to finance the stay. Therefore, this form of stay abroad is also called Work & Travel Travel. Foreigners are granted the corresponding visa a maximum of two times. The main purpose of the stay must be travel, accompanied only by short-term employment. Who wants to work in Australia, should apply for a visa for workers or business travelers.
Application and requirements
Every German citizen between 18 and 30 years can apply for a Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417). You have to be of the right age when applying, while the Australian date counts when applying. The applicant must be in possession of a passport. A visa application for a working holiday visa can be made online on the pages of the Australian Embassy or in writing at the earliest twelve months before the planned entry as well as outside Australia. If you have children, you have to choose the written application method. The Working Holiday Visa does not allow children to travel with the student. When applying, the application fee of 270.00 Australian dollars, a little over 200.00 euros, must already be paid and documents must be submitted as certified copies and with a qualified English translation.
Who Work& If you want to travel to Australia, you may need a health certificate that includes a chest x-ray and tests for HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. The visa application can be processed only after the examination results are available. This should be planned.
The working holiday visa allows the entry and exit to and from Australia during the 12-month approval period. You can enter Australia as many times as you like during the visa validity period. However, the validity of the visa is not extended if you leave and return to Australia, for example, after three months. You may work for a particular employer for a maximum of six months. Any kind of work is allowed. Studying is with Work& Travel allowed for a maximum of four months. Therefore, a student visa must be applied for to study in Australia.
The working holiday visa can be granted a second time if you have worked in certain areas for at least three months during your first stay. It only entitles you to work for an employer who already employed you during your first stay. The maximum duration of employment is again six months with each employer and the second visa is also valid for twelve months. It can be applied for in Germany or locally in Australia, for example if you want to extend your stay for another twelve months.
Since Germany does not have a health care agreement with Australia, it is advisable for German tourists to take out private health insurance for the duration of their stay in Australia. However, it is not a prerequisite for a Working Holiday Visa.
A police clearance certificate is not mandatory for the first visa application, but may be required in individual cases. It is also advisable to have sufficient financial means, as the Australian authorities may ask for proof of this. 5000 Australian dollars are considered sufficient for a 12-month stay.
Work& Travel Australia Tips
For those who can spend little, but still want to see a lot of the world, Work& Travel is a great opportunity to travel without having to take out a loan. Australia in particular is a popular destination for many work& study trips Travel travelers popular. But what is Work& Travel actually exactly, what should one consider, if one plans its journey and which gives it during the stay in Down Under to consider?
Work& Travel is a form of travel that was created to enable young people without savings to travel around the world. The idea behind it is as simple as it is clever: You earn the money for the trip with the help of simple jobs directly on site, so the journey is the destination. You can get to know the country, culture and people up close and personal, and in this way you can finance longer stays abroad without bankrupting yourself. Not as a typical tourist, who only gets to know his hotel, but as a real explorer, you will travel to the country of your choice and take home many wonderful impressions and acquaintances.
Planning
At the beginning of every work& Travel trip stands the decision for the desired destination. Who decides for Australia, usually dreams of white sandy beaches and gigantic waves, which invite to surf only so. The second important decision is of a completely different nature: Should the organization of the trip be done by a professional provider or would you like to take the planning and implementation into your own hands?? An organization takes care of such important matters as applying for a visa, booking a flight and taking out travel and health insurance. Otherwise, you have to think of all these things yourself and plan them independently – ideally some time before the start of the trip.
Luggage
Now it's time to pack! Here you should keep in mind that you will carry your luggage with you during the whole trip at temperatures of up to 40 degrees in Australia, so packing too much would be fatal. Therefore, you should limit yourself to a few, but practical and versatile things, such as functional clothing that is lightweight and takes up little space. You can also invest in a comfortable backpack and good walking shoes – after all, you will spend a lot of time with these things!
On site
After arriving in Australia, you will start looking for a job – nevertheless, it is a good idea to plan a small financial buffer for the first days in Down Under. Finding your way around the country and landing your first job takes a little time. But then you can finally get started! Typical jobs for Work& Travel travelers are farm work, hotel jobs or office jobs. When looking for a job, three things are essential: a good command of English and an Australian bank account, which is best opened as soon as you start your trip. In addition, you need a TFN, the Tile Fax Number, which is comparable to the German wage tax card and is indispensable for every job. Often you have to wait a few days for the issuance of this document, but then the work& Travel adventure in Down Under nothing more in the way and it can be started directly!
Work& Travel Travel Australia Experiences
Last year I fulfilled a long-awaited wish, I spontaneously decided to give in to my urge for freedom and booked a work-and-travel trip to Australia.
I made the booking through Travelworks, because it made it a lot easier for me to get started. So at least I had a place to stay for the first days and a few contacts to other travelers couldn't hurt either. In addition, I was supported super with the organizational errands.
My trip to Australia started in February with the departure from Frankfurt Airport. The first leg of the flight took 12 hours, and in Singapore we had to change planes, please. After another 12 hours finally the landing in Sydney. Thanks to the well-organized transport from the airport to the accommodation, I was quite quickly in my first place, where I fell exhausted on the bed.
The next day started with a so called infoworkshop, which should prepare me and all the others a little bit for the coming months. So I went together with a fellow traveler to the meeting point at Oxford Square. Before I could start my adventure, I had to open a bank account, apply for a tax number and take care of a few other things. Thanks to the support of Travelworks everything went very quickly and without problems. After that my adventure could begin, nothing stood in the way of my job search.
The choice of jobs in Australia is really huge, you just have to be careful not to be too choosy. I had the great luck to be allowed to work as a nanny for the first 2 weeks. A very advantageous job, because I could see Sydney at the same time during working hours. My protege was 6 years old, so it was possible to do some things together.
After these 2 weeks I finally decided to continue my trip, because I wanted to see as much as possible. I decided to take a closer look at the highlights of the east coast. It was beautiful in Mission Beach, a dream of a beach with coconut trees and everything you usually only see in brochures or postcards. From there I continued by plane to Cairns, where I checked into a cheap hostel. Despite the tropical climate there, I liked it very much in Cairns because of its central location. Leisure possibilities without end, I decided among other things for a tour with the speedboat to the coral reefs.
My next destination was finally the city of Melbourne, where I wanted to look for a job again. Right after my arrival there, I got a job at a big supermarket chain. My task was to fill up the shelves with new products. So definitely nothing special, but at least a secure income for the next weeks, because I also wanted to enjoy the great surroundings. I found the trip to the Great Ocean Road very impressive. With its length of more than 300 kilometers and the Twelve Apostles simply spectacular.
After 8 long months my homesickness was so great that I decided to start the journey home. Since my flight back home started in Sydney, I made my way back to the metropolis of millions, of course not without a few stops at places worth seeing.
Australia was worth the trip, the country is simply breathtakingly beautiful and the people there are very nice and open-minded, I can only recommend this trip to others.