I decided today to start the process of getting the boys enrolled in school here. 18 pages per child later, I have everything just about filled out. Geez.
So here is the process for enrolling a child in school if you are on a temporary visa.
Step 1) Find a home. You need an address before anything can happen.
Step 2) Figure out which school you would like to attend based on your address
Step 3) Fill out 7 1/2 pages of the Authority to Enroll form.
Step 4) Visit your hoped for school and have the principal fill out the other 1/2 page of the authority to enroll form
Step 5) Mail all forms, along with a certified copy of passport and visa to the NSW government
Step 6) If your forms are in order, your credit card will be charged 12 months of tuition BEFORE your child is even accepted into a school. (more on this in a minute)
Step 7) Once you get your authority to enroll form, you then fill out the 10 page application to enroll form for your choosen school and return it to the school. The school will then schedule an interview.
Step 8) Family interview
Step 9) If the interview goes well, your child can now start school!
I went ahead and started filling out the application forms first, not realizing until down towards the end that we need the authority forms first. So I have filled out almost 18 pages worth of stuff. My hand is cramping a little.
Tuition: Since we are not citizens of Australia, we get charged tuition to attend a public school. If we were on a permanent visa, we wouldn't get charged much, but we are on a temporary visa. We get to pay $4500 a year for the priviledge of going to a public school. NGC thankfully pays for this. Though we will have to pay for uniforms and books by ourselves.
We can't start much of the process until the staff gets back from school holiday on the 19th. Ugh. I was hoping the boys could start by then. Now who knows when they will get to start.
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