parisienne

Got NSW state sponsorship approved today for Financial Investment Advisor. !!!!! NSW application sent: March 7 Points: 70 + state sponsorship IELTS: Overall 9; L 8.5 R 9 W 8.5 S 9 EOI: Launched 15 Nov 2012 YEAAAAH!!

Submitted the docs and $300 for NSW yesterday. Paid with a bank cheque that says "Industry and Investment NSW" instead of "&". Didn't do anything for IELTS but attached a printout of the page where it says that Canadian passport is proof of English ability. Now waiting patiently for the 16 weeks of processing time to pass, as Raj said... Raj, keep us updated so we know when you get in!

Sydneydreams, I don't know why yours is taking so long. I got a reply from Vetassess within 6 weeks (Sent the application Sept 20, they probably got it Sept 30, then I got the positive response Nov 14.) Maybe your lack of reference letters is what's holding up the process. I gave them 100% everything they wanted, clearly labelled, certified. So my case was easy to approve. Maybe they are still undecided about what to do about yours. You could call them and ask kindly, "Is everything alright? I could try to get you more proof if that's what you need. Please tell me what you need". I find that people are shy/there is a lag/hesitant/etc to contact people to tell them they need something, but when you ask them, they will tell you. My references didn't call me to say they got contacted. So no, they didn't contact my references. But my friend tells me that his friend in Egypt applied for some other visa, and they called his school to verify that he has the degree.

I highly doubt this will be a problem. In fact I am certain this is not a problem. The Australian authorities cash thousands of cheques each year for the exact sum of $300. Yours is one of them. The bank is not going to refuse payment (to the Australian government!! Who is the absolute last entity you would suspect for cashing fake cheques!!) because of a silly "&". I think you are just worried and fearing problems where there will be none. I am completely sure you can relax about this. :-)

Thanks Mattybe and Raj for the directions, they were very clear. Will do the NSW app this week. I'll keep you guys updated. One small thing: Do I need to do the IELTS test if I have a Canadian passport? It said on the SkillSelect website (http://www.immi.gov.au/skills/skillselect/index/functional-english/) : Proof that confirms a person's ability to communicate in English includes: an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) average score of at least 4.5 for the four test components (speaking, reading, listening and writing) the applicant's first language is English and they have a current passport from ... Canada, ... ... Seeing as this second point describes my situation, I don't want to bother doing IELTS. But I'm paranoid of being rejected because I didn't do it. What do you guys think?

Thanks Mattybe and Raj for the info, and Raj I read your link. Guys, thanks for your help. But I'm confused as to whether I can actually take action and apply to anything. It says on Raj's link: "Skilled Nominated 190 visa: This visa requires nomination by a State or Territory Gov't to the DIAC". Looking further into this 190 visa, on http://www.immi.gov.au/skills/skillselect/index/visas/subclass-190/ , it says: "Applications are by invitation only. To be invited to apply, a person must: - submit an Expression of Interest and be nominated" I had submitted an EOI (an ENS, 186) to Australia as a country, stating NSW as the state I'd like to work in. This 186 visa is explained on SkillSelect website as "If you do not have an employer who will nominate you, you can lodge an Expression of Interest through SkillSelect. Employers and state and territory governments can then view your details and decide whether to nominate you for skilled migration." I did this 2 months ago. From them onwards I haven't heard anything. I have definitely NOT received any letters with invitations in them. What do you guys think ?

Ok, so I've been searching online for almost an hour trying to do this. What do you guys mean by saying I "have to apply to them", do you mean that I have to launch another EOI for NSW only, or do you mean that I have to apply to specific jobs?

I submitted the EOI for New South Wales. It didn't say anything about having to submit an application to the state of NSW, can you show me the link where it says this? But I'm not sure if anything is going to materialize. Not trying to be pessimistic, but the finance game (as we see it in Europe) is anything BUT lacking professionals. There are so many people looking for finance jobs, what with the rounds of firing and entire departments being shut down. Even when I was interviewing in Sydney they mentioned how hard it was to find a finance job these days. I still really hope the EOI works out, but I'm very aware of the possibility that absolutely nothing will happen, that our EOIs will just be launched and no one will EVER contact us... What are your views?

Yes I have. I got a positive result from VETASSESS for Financial Investment Advisor, and launched an EOI a few weeks ago. Since then I haven't heard any news...I think the plan is just to wait for someone (who needs a Financial Investment Advisor) to see my profile on the website and sponsor me. What about you?