sophiee97 Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 Hi All, I am looking to fly out to Aus next September and was just looking for any advice. I currently work as a trainee accountant in the UK and I am qualifying towards my AAT (this will be complete in July). I know that with AAT if I was to study with an English accounting board I would have exemptions and would not require a degree to do so. Because of this I was hoping to start studying CIMA around that time too. Since doing my research I have found out that I won't be able to study CIMA on a student visa as this is an online course so I would not qualify. As I can't qualify for this I was hoping that I could study it in my free time on a WHV and just sit the exams as and when required - would this be possible? Or would I be better off scrapping the plan of studying CIMA and instead studying at a university and aiming towards an Australian accounting board, as the goal would be to move out there in the end as a qualified accountant? Sorry for all the questions - seem to have hit a dead end at the moment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetBlast Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 You should be able to do that on a WHV. However afterwards getting a skilled visa will be an issue. Experienced accountants struggle to get visas due to the number of applications, I am not sure you will be even eligible for a skilled visa but if you was I doubt you would be able to get enough points to be invited. Someone who knows more about it than me should be able to explain further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip1 Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 As above, I believe it’s almost impossible for even very qualified accountants to get visas, Australia has tons of accountants. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sophiee97 Posted December 22, 2018 Author Share Posted December 22, 2018 4 hours ago, JetBlast said: You should be able to do that on a WHV. However afterwards getting a skilled visa will be an issue. Experienced accountants struggle to get visas due to the number of applications, I am not sure you will be even eligible for a skilled visa but if you was I doubt you would be able to get enough points to be invited. Someone who knows more about it than me should be able to explain further. I've looked further and seen that I can only study for 4 months of a WHV - does this mean that even though it doesn't qualify towards the Student visa I still wouldn't be able to study CIMA because it would take me well over a year to complete all of the exams? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garrychandi Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 9 hours ago, sophiee97 said: Hi All, I am looking to fly out to Aus next September and was just looking for any advice. I currently work as a trainee accountant in the UK and I am qualifying towards my AAT (this will be complete in July). I know that with AAT if I was to study with an English accounting board I would have exemptions and would not require a degree to do so. Because of this I was hoping to start studying CIMA around that time too. Since doing my research I have found out that I won't be able to study CIMA on a student visa as this is an online course so I would not qualify. As I can't qualify for this I was hoping that I could study it in my free time on a WHV and just sit the exams as and when required - would this be possible? Or would I be better off scrapping the plan of studying CIMA and instead studying at a university and aiming towards an Australian accounting board, as the goal would be to move out there in the end as a qualified accountant? Sorry for all the questions - seem to have hit a dead end at the moment Hey if you are looking to move here permanently than you should go to university here to study accounting. After study you will get 2 year post study visa, in which you can get work experience and have enough points to apply for permanent residency. If you are coming for short term and will be going back to UK then do the CIMA. As it is online course, you can study as much as you want and yes you won't be qualify for student visa. On another note, Its pretty expensive to study here as international student.For university degree you are looking at at least £50000. I am not sure if you can get student finance to study oversees Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 5 hours ago, garrychandi said: Hey if you are looking to move here permanently than you should go to university here to study accounting. After study you will get 2 year post study visa, in which you can get work experience and have enough points to apply for permanent residency. If you are coming for short term and will be going back to UK then do the CIMA. As it is online course, you can study as much as you want and yes you won't be qualify for student visa. On another note, Its pretty expensive to study here as international student.For university degree you are looking at at least £50000. I am not sure if you can get student finance to study oversees Although unaffordable for most a degree course in Australia would give the best chance of permanent residency. You need to be aware that in Australia Accounting qualifications are back to front. A person with a degree in accounting is considered to be a qualified accountant (whereas in the UK with a degree but without a professional qualification they would be termed an "unqualified accountant"). A professional qualification on top of the degree is obviously best but the degree is looked on as the higher qualification! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip1 Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 You cannot get any funding as an international student, not from either country so you do have to find the fees yourself upfront Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 Being an international student is a very expensive option. There is no government assistance and very high fees. At the same time, there is no guarantee of a visa at the end of it as the occupation lists change regularly and accountant has been regularly flagged for removal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted December 24, 2018 Share Posted December 24, 2018 (edited) What is your goal in life? If your goal is to move permanently to Australia, then I suggest you stop and reconsider your plans, because you're aiming at the wrong profession. You probably know that to be eligible for a permanent visa, you need to score a certain number of points. Right now it's 65 points. However, it's not a "first in, first served" system - it's a competition. They invite the people with the most points first. Right now, if you were an accountant applying with 65 points, you would never ever get invited - there are so many other accountants with 75 or 80 points constantly being added to the queue, and they will always leapfrog over you. That's the situation now, and it's getting worse, because there are thousands of Malaysian Chinese and Indian accountants flooding the queue. It's so bad that (as VeryStormy says), the government has flagged accountancy for removal from the occupation list altogether. Of course, you can come to Australia on a student visa, and then (if you've done two years full-time study in an eligible degree course) you can get a post-study visa for another 18 months. But at the end of that time, where will you be? If, at that point, accountancy has been removed from the lists, you will have to go home. There will be no other option open to you, except perhaps an employer-sponsored contract - which will be for only 2 or 4 years, and then you'll be in the same boat again. Having studied in Australia gives you no advantage. Edited December 24, 2018 by Marisawright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toots Posted December 24, 2018 Share Posted December 24, 2018 There are also exam candidates sitting Australian Chartered Accountants exams in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. Many of them - once they sit the final exam - apply for migration to Australia. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sophiee97 Posted December 24, 2018 Author Share Posted December 24, 2018 Thanks everyone for your input and advice! As I am only young (21), I think I will probably get myself a WHV next year and take a year out to ensure the Australia is definitely the place I see myself ending up and then will be able to make further decisions on my career 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrussell Posted December 24, 2018 Share Posted December 24, 2018 If you undertake work on a WHV (or any other visa with work rights) for which your duties are 'closely related' to the duties of an accountant, as disclosed by ANZSCO, you will not be able to claim Australian work experience points unless you were qualified at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 26, 2018 Share Posted December 26, 2018 On 24/12/2018 at 22:35, sophiee97 said: Thanks everyone for your input and advice! As I am only young (21), I think I will probably get myself a WHV next year and take a year out to ensure the Australia is definitely the place I see myself ending up and then will be able to make further decisions on my career Excellent choice. Have a bit of fun here too. travel around as much as you can - it's absolutely huge and so wonderfully diverse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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