It’s well known in backpacker circles that some travellers are getting their second year Working Holiday visa extensions unlawfully – without doing the 88 days of regional work. But what happens if you get caught?
In the new TNT they’ve covered the issue, with contributions from both sides of the debate, as well as from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC).
DIAC say: “The department scrutinises the specified work claims of all Working Holiday visa applications. In addition, it randomly audits one in seven of all applications to verify the specified work claims.”
“Visa applicants found to have committed fraud will have their visa refused or cancelled, will have to leave Australia and may receive a three year exclusion period.”
Hmm. Scary stuff. But I reckon many will still risk it. Would you?
I know about 7 people who’ve scammed it to varying degrees and none who have actually done all the work.
Some of them did about half the time and got fed up/struggled to find enough work and paid a farmer… think they paid about $300 to sign them off for about 7 weeks worth.
Others didn’t do a day, simply used the same ABN number that their mates had used.
They all had about three really nervous days and then got it no worries. Get the feeling the government isn’t being entirely truthful about how much it checks…they don’t seem that bothered
By: sydneysam on March 17, 2009
at 5:40 am
My partner has just had her 2nd working holiday visa extended after working for 95 days picking strawberries in Victoria’s Gippsland. Total visa processing time and subsequent approval was 47hours.
Rather than ‘risking it’ the general consensus from my British friends is the fun and the experience of working in a completely different industry in a vastly different part of Australia than they would ever have considered had it not been a requirement of the 2nd WHV
Perhaps if someone has a decent job they would be unwilling to put it on hold to pick fruit for minimum wage otherwise I think most people look forward to the regional work.
By: El on March 17, 2009
at 3:10 am
Fake it, fake it, fake it. Life’s a gamble and three months is a long time (on a farm). If u don’t get your visa through it wasn’t meant to be… Perhaps you could try it out and see if you like it but if you don’t then don’t waste your time.
By: TTF on March 17, 2009
at 5:46 am
got a question – is there any advantages of doing a month’s worth of work and paying off the farmer to sign off the work, over just directly applying with an ABN you received off a friend?
I mean, would it increase my chance of not getting caught by immigration in anyway, by doing ‘some’ work, rather than not doing any at all and just applying directly with an ABN number?
I would like to extend my visa but only have 2 months left so I wont be able to complete the required 88 days.
By: TOguy on March 31, 2009
at 3:37 pm
I’ve heard of some people submitting random ABN numbers and having their extension granted without any problems.
I’ve also heard of Northern Irish UK passport holders applying for Eire passports and coming back in for another year. I’ve even heard cases of Irish reapplying using their Irish name, as the Aussie authorities would be unlikely to pick up on the difference.
I don’t think Working Holiday Visa regulation is being tightened as the press may lead us to believe.
I’m an honest soul, and I don’t want to fruitpick – so I’ll be going home before my visa runs out!
By: claik on April 16, 2009
at 2:41 pm
You don’t just have to pick fruit. Any regional work in a primary industry can count. I’m currently working in a plant nursery down by the beach – that would count.
I am interested as to why backpackers wouldn’t want to experience more of Australia in a different light? Surely not afraid of a bit of hard yakka? In fact it’s not that difficult to pick fruit or work with plants. Get to spend time outside and learn more about my own country.
By: El on April 19, 2009
at 2:41 am
Hello, I just read your post from ages ago and am wondering where abouts you worked? I am hoping to get work near the beach (surf break hopefully!) and am not super keen on fruit picking. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
By: Morgan on August 16, 2011
at 4:20 pm
can anyone tell me contacts of farmers they know around wa as i want to get mine signed off dont mind doing it for a bit not the full time and dont mind paying anything would halp thanks
By: gaz on August 11, 2009
at 5:24 pm
have you got any good farmers abn
By: jeff on May 14, 2010
at 11:58 pm
i`m looking for the same kind of farmers or maybe good abn numbers with farmers who never pick up the phone…
i have just a few days left..
By: darwin dude on October 2, 2009
at 4:59 pm
Farmers do pick up their phone and I got caught don’t fake it…..not worth it
By: Joe on October 10, 2009
at 7:18 am
Hey man how did u get caught as my gf done the saame but need to get back to aus but worried theyll pick her up at the airport
By: JOhn on March 30, 2012
at 3:53 am
Hey i d like to fake this farm work thing to get the secpond WHV but i got some doubts like: What about the money i have to pay to get the visa? can i pay once i’m sure to get the visa or shall i pay in advance? If they catch i m cheating with the farm work but I m outside australia what can they do to me?
thank you all
By: Mario Roncati on July 3, 2010
at 12:24 am
ha, mario, hope that’s not your real name ot that the immigration peeps dont bother googling people!!
people i know who’ve done it have always paid up front… never a prob getting stiffed by a farmer – make sure you speak to them loads, get info about the farm/crops/area etc just in case
doubt they can do anything to you outside oz, but you might find it tricky getting back into oz if you ever return…
By: danny on July 13, 2010
at 12:07 pm
Hi guys
does anyone know what checks theimmigration dept actually do for 2nd whv since they updated the website with ‘contacting 3rd parties to verify the claims of applicants will now be standard’ ?ie do they have access to tfn? Or tax records? Or anything else since they had the crack down??
By: JJ on August 21, 2010
at 8:05 pm
A friend of mine cheated with her 2nd year whv. They checked 3rd party and found out, put her on a plane back to her home country, took her passport, only to give it back upon arrival, and excluded her for three years. Goodbye boyfriend, goodbye happy ozzy life. The point is, while probably most cheaters are lucky, some do actually get caught. Three months working might not be so bad after all..
By: Merel on January 19, 2011
at 2:48 am
Anybody know why the government does this?? I mean, if the purpose is to work while I travel and I have no interest in seeing rural Aus, but can hold down 2 or 3 jobs in tourist destinations or in my case, casual teaching in cities and travelling via cheap airfare, doesn’t that suit the “reason” for the visa?? I would think seeing that Aus is suffering due to a higher dollar and weather damage would want as many people as possible spending money travelling. Just a though…
By: Vs on March 31, 2011
at 5:58 pm
I have had 3 fruit picking jobs in the past three weeks and to be honest Im a bit fed up. Farmers do not make it easy for us to achieve the 88 days simply. For instance, if there is a little drizzle then we cannot work, if they fancy a day off then you cannot work, if you didnt do as many bins as you thought then they will send you home. They seem to drive out the backpackers some way or another. I was working in a packing shed for a week and because they were over staffed they fired a girl because she was not ‘hygenically up to standards’. It was riduculous, she was the cleanist out of the lot. Most, not all, of these farmers seem to just not give two hoots about the backpackers and just pick and choose who they like. On many occasions have friends and I been guaranteed work, travelled hundreds of km to then be disappointed as they no longer need you. The farm work isnt the hard part, its getting a decent job and keeping it!
By: Fruit Picking Hater! on May 9, 2011
at 9:33 am
Hi there,
Is there any success recently with fake applications? Or is it common practise to check all the applications now?
By: Fruitpicker on May 19, 2011
at 4:17 pm
Applications for 2nd WHV are more checked now. More backup has to be provided too.
By: Offender on June 7, 2011
at 4:43 am
i’m working in melb with my own ABN sub contracting and have been told by my employer he can get a mate from rural area to sign me off and say i worked for him for three months. Is there a chance government can check where my wages are coming from (melb) and realise i was supposedly in two places at the one time?? A bit nervous and unsure what to do.
By: chipp on July 24, 2011
at 9:06 pm
i’m currently working 6-days a week picking oranges. it’s bin rate and not paid hourly. would i be able to claim for 7-days? on a tfn declaration i’d tick the ‘casual’ and not the ‘full-time’ box. that said i’m working a minimum of 35 hours a week. i consider that to be just about full-time.
i know what i consider ‘casual’ and ‘full-time’ but can’t really seem to find any info on what aussie immigration’s definition would be. generally i’d say a full-time position is salaried with a contract. but all the backpackers in the packing sheds must be on hourly? they all seem to claim full-time but hourly pay with no sick-pay to me would be a tick for ‘casual’ on the tfn declaration?? what makes that any different from what i’m doing?
any ideas?? any thoughts much appreaciated
p.s. that really did sound boring didn’t it? oranges are making me go mental!!
By: Wee Willy Winky on July 26, 2011
at 12:13 am
Hey WeeWillyWinky
First of all, great name!!
You should give the immigration people a call to double check this but I think full time work is whatever the farm you are on considers to be full time, and you can claim the full week if you do those hours. For example, where I am, the working week is 5 days Mon-Fri, but when I fill in my form I’d count that as 7, because I’ve done the full week. If I only counted 5, it would take over 4 months to get the full 88 days. The confusion I find is on the online form you fill in. It says ‘start date’ and ‘end date’ and then ‘number of days actually worked’. So if you’ve been there 3 months and worked 5 days a week that would only be 60 days, which is why you include the weekend days you didn’t work and just put the full 88.
Hope that’s made sense, but like I said you might want to phone the immigration peeps and check!!
On the subject of the fake visa applications, I know someone who’s trying that, but she’s not too bothered about getting caught as all they do is send you home and probably stop you getting back in. However, I have loads of stuff still to see and do, so I don’t want to take the chance so I’m doing mine the proper way! Plus I get to save lots of money this way
By: David on July 30, 2011
at 2:53 pm
Hi guys, I have a friend that is currently working in a farm, he is on his second year visa, so he holds an ABN number, I asked him how to pay off a farmer and if he could help me, he says he can give me his ABN number and that would be enough to help. But, what kind of details does an ABN number have? ABN is for a business not a person if Im not mistaken right? I found you can change the ABN details on the entity details, I am wondering if the entity would be your actual name.
By: cheekyvisa on September 6, 2011
at 10:43 pm
Hi cheekyvisa
or anyone else that actually has a 2nd WH visa, could you contact me via email?
daoz87(at)hotmail.com
Thanks!
By: tweezy on January 22, 2012
at 7:44 pm
Hi, I was wondering if anyone could help me, I am a bit confused because I received my first pay-slip from the farm/campsite/conservation park I am working at for my 2nd year visa, and it says “Employment classification: Tourism” at the top. The immigration website however doesnt say anything about tourism being one of the specified jobs allowed for the visa, and Im worried I wasted my time taking this job if it doesnt count.
Also I only get paid for 2 hours a day, but actually work 8. The farm work is paid, but the conservation work (a turtle sanctuary) is voluntary. If my employer writes a reference explaining this will that count as full time work? I actually do work 7 days a week so will be able to do the required 88, Im just worried that immigration will think I only worked 2 hours a day and did bugger all the rest of the time!!
By: Suzanne on January 30, 2012
at 7:46 pm
Hello people. I’ve just been granted a second year visa for australia using a friends abn. And I’ll be flyin bk into oz soon from the uk. I’m just wondering now, do they question where you’ve worked to get the visa or if they need proof on arrival?
By: bob on March 7, 2012
at 7:03 am
Hello i was wondering the same thing and was wondering if i could give em a friends number who has a farm and gives out whv and say i worked when i get interviewed at immigration upon reentry. Has anyone has eny experiences that could help
By: JOhn on March 30, 2012
at 4:06 am
I was working on a banana farm and injured myself while at work. I had only worked for one month when i injured myself. The injury was serious enough that i had to be taken to hospital in an ambulance. I am getting medical costs and loss of earnings threw workers compensation but am i still able to apply for 2nd year visa? The injury came from an accident and no fault of my own. I am not going to be fit to do rural work for the near future and 1st year expires in 2 months from now. Can anyone shed any light on this please?
By: Celtic warrior 1888 on April 16, 2012
at 5:23 pm
My friend worked 4 days for a farmer, got signed off for 88 days, submitted his application, granted within 3 hours. Scrutinised? Yeh right
By: Bob on May 14, 2012
at 5:36 am
Bob can you email me please mate..thanks
By: Neil on May 23, 2012
at 10:57 pm
Hey guys, I’m an Irish guy living in the uk. I was on a working holiday visa in Australia a few years back and only stayed for 6 months unfortunately. I am really wanting to go back again next febuary to work but obviousky cant get another visa..Does anyone know how I can go about getting a farmer to sign me off if I pay him? if anyone could email me on thebhoyo88@yahoo.ie I’d be really gratefull..cheers
By: Neil on May 23, 2012
at 12:26 pm