MissYou,

Since you are studying in Australia now, I thought you might have the following info, i.e.:

If I go to Australia on a student visa, can I work part-time?
If yes, is the part-time pay enough to cover ALL my living expenses, i.e. the room rental, water & electricity bills, food, etc.? Assume that I either stay near enough to the campus so I can walk there & save on transport expenses or somewhere really cheap with reasonably cheap public transport facillities. Assume also that I can cook so can save a bit on food bills.
What are the consequences if I don't attend classes (but have paid the course fees in full) & work full-time? Will the college inform their Immigration who will boot me back to Malaysia straight away?
Anyone else who knows the answers to my queries are also welcome to reply. Thanks!

Oh yes, another thing: how long is the student visa valid for? If I finish 1 course, and take another that will only end after the current visa expires, do I need to apply again or can it be extended?

Hi,

You are marked by Australian Immigration.


Any face looks like you <img src="http://bbs.buysell.net.my/bbs/image.php?u=36&dateline=1063125454"> will be barred to enter Australia

Cloud... you wanna study in Aus uh??
1)You can't work as a part time if you apply for student visa...unless you work illegally..hehee....But if you wanna work...go and apply for a student visa with permission to work which can only be made in here (Aus). You would have to apply for the Tax File Number as soon as you open a bank accounts or if you wanna work.

2)Well...for your second question... Where are you going to study???.. There is no real cheap places around the city, unless you really share with bunch of people. If not you can try places which is further, suburbs. 10-15 minutes with Train(Zone 1). Public transportation is very expensive here...go for the monthly ticket. Around $80 dollars per month and within Zone 1. Don't stay too far cuz you have to spend more in your transportation fees. After Zone 1, the fare will be more expensive.

3) Err..I don't know other Uni. Like my course, in 3rd year, is more into practical stuff. Most of the students work more than 16 hours. There is no restriction in attendance. No tutorials. All you have to depends on yourself to study. Be sure you study hard to excel in examination.

4) Yes. You have to re-apply to extend. That's for sure. The visa is only valid for the current course which you are going to take.

Oooopps....I am not MissYou....sorry..but I am willing to help.

Want to apply Visa??..you can now apply thru internet. Visit www.immi.gov.au

my experience:

1) a student visa permits the holder to work part time, NOT MORE THAN 20 HOURS A WEEK. anything beyond that, sudah kira illegal liao.

2) exactly where in australia r u planning to go to? cost of living in big cities is much higher... part time jobs won't cover ALL ur expenses... it may barely cover the cost of ur accomodation but there'll be precious little left for anything else. food is pricey there. even if u do ur own cooking, the cost still comes up to pretty much the same as eating out... unless u survive on maggi mee throughout the time u r there.

3) why would u want to pay the course fees in full then not attend classes? waste of money, rite? also, what guarantee do u have that u can find a full time job? they're pretty strict bout handing out jobs to non-PR holders there, u know. & if the college found out about ur activities, there's a good chance u'll be on the next boat back to where u came from :D

4) visa usually issued for 1 year, extendable till the end of ur course. so if ur course ends within 1.5 years, ur student visa shud be valid for another 6 mths... during this time u can get a part time job & work at it full time, not exceeding 20 hrs a week.

MissYou,

Since you are studying in Australia now, I thought you might have the following info, i.e.:

If I go to Australia on a student visa, can I work part-time?
If yes, is the part-time pay enough to cover ALL my living expenses, i.e. the room rental, water & electricity bills, food, etc.? Assume that I either stay near enough to the campus so I can walk there & save on transport expenses or somewhere really cheap with reasonably cheap public transport facillities. Assume also that I can cook so can save a bit on food bills.
What are the consequences if I don't attend classes (but have paid the course fees in full) & work full-time? Will the college inform their Immigration who will boot me back to Malaysia straight away?
Anyone else who knows the answers to my queries are also welcome to reply. Thanks!

1) yes, u can work part-time, provided u have working visa (legal approach). illegal approach is also ok if u work for asian, coz most of em dun require u to have a working visa. dun worry, nothing will happen unless ur own employer report to the authority, hehe, which is not quite possible also, coz will trouble the employer himself too.

2) yes, i think the part-time pay can cover ur expenses, but u have to b very thrifty. find the cheapest accomodation. anw, i have a fren working part-time, n is able to fully support her own living expenses here. she nvr ask money frm parents, except for paying her uni fees.

3) i dun think there will b any serious consequence for not attending classes, no one cares. i have frens who dun go to uni, dun attend lectures n tutorial, n yet graduated. so? shouldnt b a problem. there's too many students in uni, they r not free enuf to trace u:)

btw, if u wanna work full-time, it's not a big issue as well, work for asian, i think most of em dun report their workers legally. so it's not a big deal. work as much as u want, nothing serious will happen kua.

last but not least, y do u need to know these stuff?

btw... in conclusion, u can do watever u like when u get here with ur student visa, work for asian illegally lo. not a big deal, many do that. as lynee mentioned, there's a working limit for international student if u wan it to b legal.

it's not impossible to support urself with a part-time job. my fren seem to handle it very well... even have spare to spend after paying her bills and rent. can stil eat out, go for movie, go clubbing, go for holidays, sumtimes shopping. i dunno how she did it....but amazing!!! my pay is not even enuf for me to go shopping. so it really depends on how u manage ur money la.

btw... in conclusion, u can do watever u like when u get here with ur student visa, work for asian illegally lo. not a big deal, many do that. as lynee mentioned, there's a working limit for international student if u wan it to b legal.

it's not impossible to support urself with a part-time job. my fren seem to handle it very well... even have spare to spend after paying her bills and rent. can stil eat out, go for movie, go clubbing, go for holidays, sumtimes shopping. i dunno how she did it....but amazing!!! my pay is not even enuf for me to go shopping. so it really depends on how u manage ur money la.


MissYou........... where are you working part time???? :D

btw... in conclusion, u can do watever u like when u get here with ur student visa, work for asian illegally lo. not a big deal, many do that. as lynee mentioned, there's a working limit for international student if u wan it to b legal.

it's not impossible to support urself with a part-time job. my fren seem to handle it very well... even have spare to spend after paying her bills and rent. can stil eat out, go for movie, go clubbing, go for holidays, sumtimes shopping. i dunno how she did it....but amazing!!! my pay is not even enuf for me to go shopping. so it really depends on how u manage ur money la.

depends lor what job u get... most ppl go for waiter jobs which pay really little. or perhaps missyou's fren is living in a very cheap accomodation or else is one of the lucky ones who got a good part time job. heheheh.

here's a tip. if u want to get more pay, try getting a job in chinatown in a chinese shop. ppl tell me the pay's better than if u work for the mat sallehs.

one of my frens worked in a restaurant in chinatown as a menu explainer...stand outside the shop & explain to whoever passes by about what dishes the restaurant offers & what's it made of, etc etc...heard he got paid a fat sum for that cos he had to stand outside even during winter... *brrrr*

my job is like a waitress la... low pay... i m working for asian, which is a norm to get low pay (under-paid). as for my fren, she is working as a waitress in a malaysian restaurant here. the pay is not high either. one shift (frm 5-11pm) she gets 45AUD. which is quite low if u count the per hr rate. BUT, not to forget, mat sallehs here r very generous when giving tips. sumtimes the tips she gets even exceed her pay! so that's where she got additional income lo. anw, her accomodation is pretty cheap also, half of wat i m paying.

lynee, r u sure ur fren tell u chinese pay higher than mat sallehs? which is totally not true here! frm wat i know, asian alwiz take advantage of us, international students, we r alwiz under-paid. the std rate for a 20 yrs old employee will b around 12aud per hr o more if working as waitress, working at fast food outlets like KFC o even cafes ike starbucks. they have a system here where certain age mus b paid a certain amt. so now, compare the 7-8aud per hr pay frm chinese employer with the minimum 12 dollars pay per hr? obviously working for mat salleh is better rite???

as for working as a menu explainer...that is not an easy job, n not much pple r willing to take up the job kua. they usually hire girls, avg good looking girls. can u imagine during winter, when the chilly wind is blowing strong n raining, u gotta stand outside. wah!!! for the whole day n nite. boring. of coz they gotta offer a higher wage rate ler. hehe

that's what i heard. i din't hv the chance to work back then, so i'm not too sure whether its true or not.

just heard ppl say nia.

to be a menu explainer, u gotta have a very good command of chinese & english... esp mandarin & cantonese.

wow... tks for fast replies, guys & girls! asking for friend ler... me had enough of studying already... :p

yup..mandarin n canto seem vital in china town...pple jus go around speaking their own language... CHINAtown ma...even it's in aust, customers just speak mandarin o canto to waitress.

yeah...you can see asian everywhere in the City....... chinese, japanese, indian, malay, indonesian, ...etc...etc...

btw... MissYou....where are you working??

last time my sister studied in Melbourne...she worked part time...and during her graduation....she even treated two of my sisters for trips around Australia....

so I think it's pretty good money

MissYou... do you mind giving me a breakdown of your expenses? i.e. how much is your room rental, food, water & electricity bills etc?

sementara tunggu missyou reply, here's mine, from a few years back :p

room rental = AUD150 per month. ok i got mine super cheap cos we were staying in what the ozzies called the "asian ghetto" cos there were tons of asians (particularly malaysians) living there & the units were quite run down. my flat had 2 rooms, 3 of us staying. the whole place went for AUD600 per month, so we split the cost AUD300 per room. since mine was the bigger room & i was sharing, we split it further.

if u live in posher places, ie downtown, rental goes by per week. i heard that the accomodation provided by my uni in the uni itself cost AUD100 per week for a small room.

food = expenses fluctuated. i made frens with some aussies, & they often invited me over to their place for dinner. we did do some cooking on our own at home, but it was too much hassle. most of the time, the person cooking had to cook for herself only cos all of us were seldom home. but i guess i spent about AUD400 on food (eating out + self cooking + buying essentials (eg maggi mee, bread, milk, juice, fruits) + sharing food with frens).

bills = gas & electricity averaged AUD50 per month for each of us. water is not billed.

transport = AUD150 per month on average. walking to uni from my place took 30 mins one way (if i used the main road. if go by jalan belakang, only 20 mins). too lazy to walk so most of the time took the tram (15 mins) & squeezed out $$$ for what could have been exercise.

i dunno if these rates r still applicable now...

is cloud7 getting ready for his cloning experiments ...transferring his clones over to Aust as a breeding ground????? :D

yeah, average rate working for asian is around AUD7-10 per hour.
If you work for ang mo, the rate is at least AUD10.50


but the problem is they won't hire you
I'd applied hungry jacks and kfc, they reject my application letter... ***!!

shlim...

u shud explain to them, if china ppl wanted to have their meals at their restaurants & couldn't speak english, having u on the team could help them out.

on the other hand, ang mors have really off business sense... opporturnity comes a-knocking to the doorstep also they can turn it away.

notice how they halau customers at closing time? my mom kena once b4 when she went to sydney for a holiday. it was near closing time & she was queueing up to pay for something at a supermarket. there was another person ahead of her in the queue, & ngam-ngam when it was this person's turn to pay, the clock struck 6.

cashier told that person "sorry sir, we're closed for the day. pls return the item to the shelf where u got it & come back to purchase it again tomorrow. thank u & have a good evening."

my mom said she din't bother coming back the next day. macam la orang free sangat.

in contrast to the chinese medicine shops here... customer come in just b4 closing also they layan & borak-borak summore.

btw... MissYou....where are you working??

i'm working in chinatown...village cinema arcade. exact location? an orange colored store opposite dragon boat....got any idea? :D

MissYou... do you mind giving me a breakdown of your expenses? i.e. how much is your room rental, food, water & electricity bills etc?


very hard to answer ur Q, coz my expenses fluctuate alot depending on how i spend :D but nvm, i will give u the normal expenditure list . take note that all the expenses are after divided by 2, between me n my apartment mate.
there u go:-
mthly rental = A$700
market exp weekly = $40-50 (can be as low as $20-30 for most pple, but not me)
groceries weekly = $ 30-40 (can b lower also)
eating out weekly is approx $30-50
so in total, food expenditure will b around $500 mthly.
bills r quite hard to predict coz i nvr really take note of em. but i'll still give some brief amt.
house phone bill is approx 20-30 permth.
electricity+water+gas bill will b approx 100 permth.
transport exp will b around $30 permth. i walk to uni (5mins). i only go to city by tram. other than city center, i wont go anywhere. so this fee depend on individuals la.
internet + mobilephone bill mthly = $90

yeah, average rate working for asian is around AUD7-10 per hour.
If you work for ang mo, the rate is at least AUD10.50


but the problem is they won't hire you
I'd applied hungry jacks and kfc, they reject my application letter... ***!!


they do hire asian here, in melb. one can easily get part-time job at fast-food outlets and cafes or even supermarkets. i see alot of asian, international students working at those plcs. i have frens working there too. they seem to get the job easily, probably higher demand here.

they do hire asian here, in melb. one can easily get part-time job at fast-food outlets and cafes or even supermarkets. i see alot of asian, international students working at those plcs. i have frens working there too. they seem to get the job easily, probably higher demand here.tat's good... i can hardly see any asian working other in chinatown here
if you see an asian look working in those fast food store, he/she probably an ABC.

btw... ur expenses is about same as me ler, my expenses is approx AUD200 per week


p/s : u work as waitress?? i thaught u selling fridge :p

very hard to answer ur Q, coz my expenses fluctuate alot depending on how i spend :D but nvm, i will give u the normal expenditure list . take note that all the expenses are after divided by 2, between me n my apartment mate.
there u go:-
mthly rental = A$700
market exp weekly = $40-50 (can be as low as $20-30 for most pple, but not me)
groceries weekly = $ 30-40 (can b lower also)
eating out weekly is approx $30-50
so in total, food expenditure will b around $500 mthly.
bills r quite hard to predict coz i nvr really take note of em. but i'll still give some brief amt.
house phone bill is approx 20-30 permth.
electricity+water+gas bill will b approx 100 permth.
transport exp will b around $30 permth. i walk to uni (5mins). i only go to city by tram. other than city center, i wont go anywhere. so this fee depend on individuals la.
internet + mobilephone bill mthly = $90Wah, your rental is so expensive! after divide by 2 still AUD700!!! is it a 2-room apt only ah?

yea...2 room apt...o in fact it's 1 n 1/2 room apt (1 rm 1 study), but we made the study into a room, big enuf to b a room.

shlim in Adelaide & MissYou in Melbourne but expenses the same, guess it's pretty standard then...

hehe...probably different, i eat home most of the time during weekdays... he might eat out every meal?:P so it really depends kua...

shlim... selling fridge is my full-time job ma...

Thanks, MissYou... will buy u lunch/tea/dinner when u come back in erm... November, right? remind me, ok? Beng, help to remember too, ok? so long away, might forget liao... :p

November is just next month :D

:) i will b home very soon, but in dec instead...after so long...at last i m going home to see my family n frens!! of coz not to forget i get to eat alot of good food. i will remember for u, dun worry cloud7:P

i gained so much here...now i desperate to lose weight so when i go home dun need to worry bout diet. i need tgnj's diet secret badly:P

i'm working in chinatown...village cinema arcade. exact location? an orange colored store opposite dragon boat....got any idea? :D

well...I'll look for it one day..haha.....

well cloud..if you really wanna look for houses around the City..the rental probably around AUD 100-200 per week...haha....depends on which type of house you want..... fully furnished nice apartment uh???....that will be very expensive....nowadays rental really expensive...unlike the old days..... unless you really stay far from the City......

:) i will b home very soon, but in dec instead...after so long...at last i m going home to see my family n frens!! of coz not to forget i get to eat alot of good food. i will remember for u, dun worry cloud7:P

i gained so much here...now i desperate to lose weight so when i go home dun need to worry bout diet. i need tgnj's diet secret badly:P

I'll be back on the 6 of November!.... I have only 3 papers for final... :D

wah!!! u'll b back so early? that's the date my exam starts la! so nice... but nvm...looking at the bright side, i got mroe time to study n prepare:P

:) i will b home very soon, but in dec instead...after so long...at last i m going home to see my family n frens!! of coz not to forget i get to eat alot of good food. i will remember for u, dun worry cloud7:P

i gained so much here...now i desperate to lose weight so when i go home dun need to worry bout diet. i need tgnj's diet secret badly:PNo secret lah... just eat less & exercise more...

wah!!! u'll b back so early? that's the date my exam starts la! so nice... but nvm...looking at the bright side, i got mroe time to study n prepare:P



Good luck in your upcoming exams, MissYou :D

thanx for ur early wish partygal...:)

Welcome :D

yup... comparing rental... my rental is far cheaper than missyou
my monthly rental is only AUD60 per week. Big room and fully furnished.

but i spent a lot on electricity, gas , phone, transport and entertainment...
sometimes will go up to AUD180 per week, but normally will juz spend about AUD130 per week.


good luck la... everybody who sittin for exam soon
mine starts at 11 Nov and ends at 19 Nov... going back early Dec

Good luck to u also s.h.lim. Study smart.

yah... good luck to all who are sitting for exams... at least you all are not affected by floods, like some northern states here... :p