I'm 17 years old and I'm looking to going to Australia this year to be with my fiance. Currently, I'm residing in North Carolina. I'm hoping to be able to transfer from my high school to over there. I'm a senior this year at WCHS. If I transferred to a school in Australia, would I have to repeat year 11 and 12? What kind of visa would I need to be able to study there? What are the requirements for it? Also, I'd like to know what the requirements for the marriage visa is and what you can do with that visa? If I got married before I was 18, would my mom have to fly with me so she can sign us to get married? Thank you if you can answer my questions. Where can I apply for these visas at?
Immigration - 5 Answers
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1 :
You have to be able to ride a Red Roo for 5 miles without falling off, or so my friend in Sydney told me last time I visited.
2 :
check the Australian section of this site ..1000s of people heading that way http://britishexpats.com/forum/
3 :
you got to be 18 to be married in Australia, and unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as you are terminally ill and will die before you reach 18, and you can proove you are dying. You can get married with parental consent. So I'd just wait till you are 18... And with school, the school system is completely different over here. Different exams, different content you get tested on... So if you wanted to finish high school, in Australia and get a HSC which is the what you get out of yr 11 and 12, you'd probably have to do year 11 and 12 over, or at the very least year 12. I also think there are a lot of laws concering what visa you have and what it entitles you to do. There are student visas, but I'm pretty sure they don't accept students wanting to do yr11 and 12, only higher qualifications. And if you get married, it could be a breach of your visa. If you get a tourist visa that doesn't entitle you to study. the same if you get a work visa. If you are found to be doing the wrong thing they will send you packing back to america. I'm not actually sure about the conditions of migrating to Australia, but I've heard that once you come here, after a few years of living here you can apply for citizenship. But you are only 17. I would think long and hard before coming here. It might not be what you expected, and it will cost you a lot, and you don't want to be stranded in a foreign country (as lovely as we are). You should wait till you finish school, at the very least so you don't have to redo anything. And with your american highschool certificate thin you should be able to get into a TAFE course at the very least or apply for uni here, which means you would get a student visa. Anyway, all this information could be wrong, but its an idea of how it goes anyway. Australia is pretty strict on their visas, so don't do the wrong thing.
4 :
you are too young to get a marriage visa
5 :
Your age is going to cause numerous problems that will magically disappear the moment you turn 18. Because you're under 18, if you were to come as a student on a student visa, you would have to go to an approved boarding school; bring a student guardian such as your mother with you to stay until you turn 18 or stay with an approved close relative. There is no way you will be granted a student visa without one of those arrangements being in place - you will definitely not be allowed to live with your fiance. http://www.immi.gov.au/students/students/571-1/ (Student visa for high school student) http://www.immi.gov.au/students/students/571-1/eligibility-student-18.htm (Requirements for students under 18) Our high school year begins at the end of January, so you will need to begin year 12 then even though you will have already done several months of your Senior year. It shouldn't be necessary to repeat year 11, though in some states, some results towards university entrance are carried over from year 11 so some additional study or testing may be required. You would need to speak to the school about what would be required. You will have to pay international tuition fees which for a public high school will be around $10,00/year. The easiest course would be for you to marry in the USA and then apply for a spouse visa which will take around 4 months to be granted (if it is approved). The spouse visa will be temporary for 2 years and then becomes permanent if the relationship is still intact at that time. You will be eligible for free public high school tuition but will have to pay international tuition fees for tertiary education until your spouse visa is permanent (i.e. after 2 years). http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/partners/partner/309-100/ (Offshore spouse visa) You could also come to Australia on a tourist visa and marry here then apply for a spouse visa. You must give at least 1 month and 1 day's notice of your intention to marry and as a minor, must have an order of an Australian judge or magistrate - parental permission is not enough. http://www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/rwpattach.nsf/VAP/%28CFD7369FCAE9B8F32F341DBE097801FF%29~notice+of+intended+marriage+form.pdf/$file/notice+of+intended+marriage+form.pdf (Notice of Intention to marry) http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/partners/partner/820-801/ (Onshore spouse visa) You may be able to get a Prospective Marriage visa which will take around 4 months to be granted and which would allow you to travel to Australia and marry within 9 months of the visa grant date. Again, your age will cause major difficulties. The following is what Immigration say about minor prospective spouses: "You must be able to legally marry according to Australian law. This means you must be aged 18 years or over. If you are aged 16 years or over but less than 18 years, you must have an Australian court order allowing you to marry your intended spouse, or you must both be of marriageable age at time of the intended marriage. Your fiancé in Australia can be aged under 18 years if they have an Australian court order allowing them to marry you. In these circumstances, their parent or guardian must be your sponsor and they must be an Australian citizen, a permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen aged 18 years or over." http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/partners/prospective/300/ (Prospective marriage visa - offshore only) Our immigration authorities are very protective of minors and conscious of their duty of care to them. Even though the above says that it's OK if the date of the intended marriage is after you turn 18, there is no guarantee that they will grant a PM visa to a 17 year old who doesn't have a court order if they're not completely satisfied regarding her general welfare up until the date of the marriage or her majority. I've provided links to the official government site for all visas. Select Applying for this visa on the menu for each for information on how to apply.
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