Day 348 | Bandy Creek: & Antonio falls in love with a seal
Esperance Day 50
C says he’ll remain here in Paradise indefinitely.
M is moving on.
She’s been down on site 47.5 since before Christmas and working sporadically at a coffee shop in town. She’s managed to save a bit of money, cheap rent here and she has been living off the delicious food the cafe would normally throw away at the end of the day.
M’s dilemma is the extension of her 1 year working holiday visa, May termination approaching, and the onerous condition to undertake a narrow range of employment in rural regions of Australia for 3 months, or at least find someone who will certify that she has. Then she gets a second year where it’s possible to work anywhere in the country.
Time is running out and none of her working experience here complies with the stringent requirements.
With her logistics degree she can qualify for a skilled migration visa but on close examination of the fine print she has found out today she must have had 5 years continuous experience not her 4 intermittent years.
Now the only avenue to permanent residency is to leave Australia and then return as a full time, and full fee paying, student. She is going to find the full list of approved vocational courses and then maybe throw a dart.
For the long term traveller, and M has been on the road for the last 8 years, Australia is the easiest place to save money for future travelling. She’s hoping 2 1/2 weeks will be enough unpaid effort, collecting organic eggs on a farm 6 hours bus trip away, to get the entire 3 months signed off.
There’s an administrative system and then there’s the backpacker’s system.
She’s a little nervous she might be afraid of the chooks.