This is my very first blog on this site, and what better way to start this blog by discussing paperwork… hooray! When I say paperwork, I’m talking about the mind numbing, gut wrenching, frustration monster that is passport/visa paperwork.
The visa I tried to get is called Tier 5 Youth Mobility Visa. It’s for those wanting to work in the UK and are under 30. To keep it nice and brief, let me just say to all of you who are in the middle of trying to work through the myriad of mess that is the visa process let me introduce you to the go to site:
It took me a little while to find this site and sadly to say, even when you are going through the process of a visa on this site, you still need to surf the net to help you find the info they leave out. The question that stumped me quite a lot is when they ask you for “total points” (the one and only time they ever mention “points” in the whole form). Look it up in google and there should be a site that will work out the points for you.
Apart from that these websites were very helpful to me throughout the whole process:
*although the second one is by a Canadian, the info is still help.
The process is in three parts; online form, interview in person and then additional forms and passport sent away to Sydney. Section three takes up to 4 weeks for your passport to come back so START EARLY! A tip I didn’t follow. Silly me.
The other bit of advice I will give you is when you are going into the interview, make sure everything you bring in is in hard copy. They don’t let you bring in your phone. They also don’t let you into the door without a printed copy of your interview details. It’s all incredibly strict.
With all that out of the way, fingers crossed my visa comes through and my journey can begin.
Hope this is helpful to you fellow adventurers.
From the very tired but optimistic,
Laura – Daydreamer
P.s. Thank you so much Kelly for holding my hand throughout the whole thing. I couldn’t have done this without you.
daydreamingtraveller 