HI if ur wanting to work in europe ull need a working visa for each country that u want to work in – otherwise – the non-legal way – which is less certain is to do ruit picking in some coutries to work for cash. hope all goes well

thanks for the reply… i was thinking of doing it that way. but i wanted to see if there are any other ways? as well as for a bank account what do you have to do? what process do i have to go through? what should i look out for?

thanks again

Hey Montes, I’m an aussie too, and will be keeping an eye on this thread to see what comes of it coz I’m in need of some of those answers too!
I’m keen to go backpacking thru Europe aswell, and the only thing between me and open wings??!! Moolah ofcourse!! So yeah, I’d like to know about some of the nuts and bolts of this situation too! Am only in the early stages of investigating my trip…but am going to Switzerland with family (my bro’s wife is swiss) in Late June…and though I’m not rollin’ in the cash…would love to branch off from there and stay over for a while!!
Look forward to reading the tips from others…
Toodles

good to hear sarah!!! i’m so pumped for it… when are you travelling?

hey guys…just thought we’d add to the aussie post. We are also heading to europe in late april to backpack first then maybe look for a job. Also interested in how this goes and what jobs are on offer. I’m also curious if anyone can answer me is that in england do I have to register with a certain organisation to be eligible to work within the medical field (I have my degree)???
Thanks and happy travels to you australians and everyone else.

hehehe Looks like there’s plenty of us keen to know…and not too many people around who can give us the advice we seek! : )
Montes I’m going to be in Switzerland (if all goes well) from June 30th… and I’m thinking of bunny hopping from there into some more affortable countries! lol.
My Sister in Law is Swiss…(keep it on the down-low but I don’t wanna be stuck there with her cranky Mum it’s scary)…lol
So i’m backpacking on outta there.
No plans set in stone just yet, but am thinking of italy/spain/portugal/greece maybe??
When are you heading there Montes??

Good luck!! hehe : )

a lot of people interested which is good to see so i would like to see if anyone can help us out, so come on backpackers!!! we need your help.

Sarah its good to see that you at least have family in europe that you can rely on as well, i dont know any1… i am heading over in october this year if everything goes well. i plan to visit a lot of countries, but i am not sure how it is going to work out… spain, portugol, austria, holland,the uk, germany (soccer world up), switzerland, italy, greece and i got family in south america but thats on the way back… its going to be a big trip!! i hope it all fits in lol.

i’m always looking for people to meet and travel with, thats partly the reason why i’m travelling… it would be just liking starting a new school and making more friends (if thats a good way of comparing it). so if anyone whats a travelling buddy and is interested in visiting the places which i am, let me know…

hey guys… thought i would reply to this post as it kinda applies to me, as i will be heading to europe in july.
from what i have heard from friends it is easier to get jobs out of the main places, ie its much easier to get a job in places like newcastle rather than london.
I also have friends who haved worked in bars in lagos, portugal, the only difference is you dont get paid cash, you get to drink for free. so thats an option im looking forward to exploring.
hoping some more info gets posted… and hope this helps a bit

Only can help you with working in England, as long as you are under 27, you can work in the UK for 2 years without a work permit (this is for kiwi’s and aussie’s) if you are 28 and over, you need to be sponsered, every week on a Monday, a magazine (which is free) is published called the TNT and they have heaps of various jobs going as well as ads for agency work, you should get work within a couple of days of trying unless you are fussy, look up www.gumtree.co.uk this also list jobs
As for bank accounts, I remember my friends would set them up before they arrived in the UK but I honestly can’t remember which one they were, just check out your bank back in AUstralia to see which ones do them
Hope this helps

Hi People. I am Aussie as well, I am heading to Europe around August this year for a 3 year working holiday etc.

Check out www.statravel.com.au for help opening a UK bank account. Will cost $75. All set up before you leave Australia. You get a few other benefits with this.

I plan on working in the UK mainly, but also doing some stints in Denmark, Norway and a few others. Depending on how I go with the timing of my work visas later this year. Most countries you are allowed to work in only allow you to apply for the visa in your host country. The visa usually becomes effective from the day they complete it. The UK has a 2 year work visa, the rest of Europe where Aussies are allowed tow ork have 1 year visas. These can not be renewed unless you are sponsored.

Let me know if you have any more questions. I have done a fair bit of research.

Stew

can STA organise your bank account only or do you have to do the wholre package?

They can do as little, or as much for you as you like… They are really good to deal with.

So yeah, can just do the bank account thing if you like.

Stew

O.k.

You have a few options..

Seek.com.au obviously offers jobs in the u.k, plus – there’s a utility called www.pubs-uk.com – check it out.

Pubs in the UK will often provide accommodation and meals and pay you a small wage each week. Bare in mind this is great considering accomm. and food will unavoidably be a massive expense in London.

Apart from this, I searched the same questions before I went overseas and the fact is, there are no answers….

Apart from the British Isles, you can’t get work anywhere else in Europe unless you speak the language.

Perhaps consider learning a language before you go…. It will add a heap to the experience and it’s heaps of fun. it will kill a lot of time on your train rides – practicing and reading, learning it.

There are a few options I never tried but are very possible to you..
Ring around to some of the hostels (or ask when you show up there).. and ask if you can be a cleaner or do some duties there for money. that’s quite possible.

There’s a few aussie bars in france and spain.. Bar Oz i thin kit’s called in paris. it’s in the lonely planet. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind a few local aussies working there given that most of the people that go there are aussie. I think i met a bartender who didn’t speak french there.

A job that you might be able to get……

Is that all the train stations and airports… there are people that greet you when you get off the train asking if you have a place to stay. (so many backpackers don’t bother booking and just decide when they get there). so, you could be a person who does this. these people are everywhere…. When you ring the hostels, perhaps suggest this.

this was a long one.. good luck.

Recent changes mean that Aussie’s on a working holiday can only work for 12 months although we are allowed to stay or come and go for a 2 year period.

There are now a heap of options to open bank accounts. The easiest is to venture to your local ‘Fight Centre’ or ‘Student Flight’s’ shop and sign up for their ‘Launch Pad UK’ programme. You even get passes for free beer, all for $99.

Check it out!

http://www.owh.com.a…

If you actually have a program that allows you to set up an account before you head to Europe, go for it. You should, however, make sure that it is as good as it seems. Bank accounts are notoriously difficult to set up in Europe, and it’s best to know what you’re going to encounter before you head over.

As for what MarcusTrip has said, with all do respect, I really think that it’s important to clarify some of the things he’s told you. First of all, any place that will offer you accommodation and meals but only a small wage is only good if you don’t plan on traveling. You’ll probably want to be saving some money while you work, and a "small wage" will likely fall around or below minimum wage.

Also, the bit about needing to know the a country’s national language in order to work in a place is entirely untrue. Anyone who has ever been to Amsterdam will know that there are more Ozzies there than there are Dutch. In fact, a Dutch friend of mine tried to get served while we were there and the bartenders couldn’t understand a word he said. As a result of this phenomenon EU governments are implementing mandatory employee language training in some circumstances, but it’s still very possible to get around it. If you go to a popular tourist spot, they’ll be hiring English-speaking people.

As for working in hostels, MarcusTrip has some good ideas. A lot of places will hire backpackers to do some maintenance work on a temporary basis and will pay either in cash or via free stays.

As for the final idea MarcusTrip mentioned, I implore you – from one backpacker to another, DO NOT BECOME A TOUT!!! The people who hassle you to stay at their hostels are no better than those annoying people who call you at dinner to switch your phone plan. It’s a terrible job and it won’t pay worth your time.

Have a great time!

just some advice regarding working in Switzerland.

If you only have your australian passport and you’re planning to find work in Switzerland – it’s damn hard – unless you are extremely qualified in an area that they are running short of people in. Switzerland is EXTREMELY organised and strict with pretty much everything. Not only concerning the obvious environmentally friendly attitude that everyone’s heard about, but also with opening bank accounts, getting credit cards and jobs. If you get caught working illegally in Switzerland, the fines are huge and it’s a massive pain to deal with – so make sure you do everything legally because it’s not worth getting caught.
I’m an aussie too but I’m lucky because I have swiss citizenship. Even so, I was surprised with how high the standards are regarding bank accounts and so on. In Australia I went to apply for a credit card with suncorp and you needed to earn $17 000 to $18 000 P/A. Here, you need to earn 36 000 CHF P/A (and the aussie dollar is roughly the same as the swiss francs).
I’m working as an aupair in Switzerland at the moment but in July a couple of my friends are coming from home and meeting up with me. we’re doing a few weeks of travel around spain before going to london to work. I’m hoping my swiss bank account with UBS will allow me to transfer my money into the UBS bank in London, otherwise I was going to see if I could open another account with someone else because I heard there’s only one UBS bank in London or something.
I was planning on applying for office work if I could, but also trying for work in retail, or bar work. I’m going to London to top up my account and I’m hoping to find as much work as I can handle (and I hope I’m not being too optimistic about it!)
I’ll be sharing accommodation with two of my friends and my sister so hopefully that will cut the costs somewhat.
Anyway, I hope if anyone is hoping to find work in Switzerland, that I haven’t put them off, but it pays to be aware of that stuff. also, just know that, yes, Switzerland is freaking expensive and it’s not the cheapest place to live by any means. That being said, it’s totally gorgeous and an amazing place to see when you’re backpacking. It’s got great cosmopolitan cities as well as unbelievable mountain, waterfall scenery and fantastic for those interested in extreme sports. Interlaken is so beaut for that.
It’s so great to read posts from aussies. I hope you all have a fantastic time travelling.
bunches of love,
Soph
P.S. Is the panel still on tv? And what’s Rove Live like now?

Hey,
I am also Aussie, but I have met many backpackers and travellers. Some of them participate in a programme called WOOFING. Basically, you go to peoples farms (usually organic) and do about 5 hours of work a day for board and food.
THis is an international program with farms all over the world, doing all different things.
So although this is not paid work, it would be worth your while looking into it. If you happened to get stuck with no accommodation, you would have a book of farms to call to go and stay at. Its a great way to meet new people and experience different cultures and ways of life.
The aussie site is www.wwoof.com.au
It has links to the international sites.
Good luck!!!
Oh, Rove is still great! funny as ever.
(i rekon im gonna miss that too when I go OS)!