A Serious Post.
In reply to Ms. FoxyRoxy's question (see comments), this is just my experience of the dreaded immigration process:
Applying for a visa for me was dead easy as I just needed a student visa. Once I had an offer from the university in mid September, it was just a matter of applying to the immigration website. The decision was made 3 weeks after my medicals. Visa was granted end of November. In fact, if I had applied nearer to the start of the semester, the process would have been much quicker. There was a limit to how far in advance I could apply for the visa. In the end, it was granted 3 months in advance which gave me plenty of time to get settled and have a bit of a holiday.
Diver Dave had a different experience but he was applying for permanent residency. He started in 1999 and didn't leave England until 2001! This was partly due to reorganisation at the immigration office and his immigration agent's incompetence but apparently it can usually take about a year. The general consensus from expats seems to be that using an experienced agent is the best approach, although this obviously involves extra expense on top of what you are already forking out for the visa. Diver Dave is now an aussie citizen but still supports the Motherland in rugby and cricket! Sshh - don't tell the authorities!
If you're applying for a working holiday visa, if youre under 30, I think it's reasonably straight forward and you can do it yourself online. But I'm no expert and it's worth checking out some of the expat forums for other people's experiences.
Whilst you can ask the same question on these forums, it's worth doing a search on the subject first as there will already be TONS of entries about it - usually expressing their deep misery and woe! Good luck!
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