Viv n Rick

He is very nice, he was professional and quick. He was very good at preserving the dignity of my 10 year old daughter and I, made the kids laugh with the reflex hammer thingy!

Our Doctor said on the day that there was no problem with our medical and urine tests, but the bloods and chest x-ray results would take a couple of days. He said if anything was wrong we would be the first to know, so no news is good news!

Unfortunatlely we had to pay up front. Others beware!

Dear Love Shoes, 176 sponsered skilled PR. Wanted to go to SA, but our agent cocked up and it seems we will now be going to WA! We went to Perth in 2009, it was lovely, but very hot, so fancied our chances on the other side. Many on here seems to pussyfoot around the deadly sins of booze and fags, I have search enough threads before our meds! So I thought it was a good time to say we are not all pure and perfect gym bodies, but you can still get through. Hope this will ease some minds!

Boyes, although I don't know if they have stores in your area.

Hope this puts someones mind at rest, it did it for me! Hubby, 2 kids and me had our meds etc. on 16/11/11, at Manchester. Lovely staff, very efficient, and Dr. Smith was very professional. We knew before we left that the medical and urine test was fine. We asked when results of chest x -ray would be available, it would take a couple of days, but if there was anything wrong we would be the first to know. My hubby is being investigated by our GP for a stomach problem, his scan is on Friday, so our GP will have to send the results of the scan to Dr. Smith, to forward to DIAC. Ladies over 40 be aware, you will have a breast exam at the medical. This morning I checked for progress on DIAC website. This is what it said, Person 1 Hubby 29/06/2011 Health requirements outstanding 31/10/2011 e-Mail sent to you 29/06/2011 Medical examination required 18/11/2011 Further medical results received 18/11/2011 Further medical results received 18/11/2011 HIV blood test received Person 2 Me 29/06/2011 Health requirements outstanding 21/11/2011 Further medical results referred 21/11/2011 Further medical results referred 21/11/2011 Further medical results referred 21/11/2011 HIV blood test referred Person 3 offspring 1 18/11/2011 Health requirements finalised 17/11/2011 Further medical results received Person 4 offspring 2 18/11/2011 Health requirements finalised 17/11/2011 Further medical results received I was horrified that my medical result was referred and not Hubby's, after all, he was waiting for scan and results. I began to contemplate the amount of wine I am capable of consuming and how many fags I have smoked, ( all for medicinal purposes of course, reckon it's better for a self employed body than Valium, and more enjoyable!) Anyway, drove myself crazy with worry, then decided to ring Medigration, where we had the meds. I left a message and had to wait for the call back, expecting them to say the blood test only showed alcohol and the chest x-ray was not clear because of the smog clouding the picture!:arghh::arghh: Lovely lady rang me back. Apparently on one of the many forms we have submitted on this journey,, my surname has one misspelled letter and does not agree with the spelling on my passport!:swoon:I have now had smelling salts and recovered from my faint, although my Hubby's scan is not until Friday. Still, think I will have a glass of Shiraz to celebrate!

Hi Lucy, I havn't done this before, but I hope I sent you a PM. We started the AQF process mid 2010, but were in no rush to complete it until talk of the July changes. As you said, because my OH did the AQF 111, we should go straight to the online interview and skip stage one. What did stage one entail? Thanks Viv.

Thank you Lucy, I will ask the question, although I think the answer will be that DIAC website hasn't been updated. Thanks Viv.

Hello, My OH passed his AQF 111 in Engineering -Fabrication Trade on 09/03/11.:biggrin: We have an agent who said we must submit our TRA form ASAP in order to submit our 176 visa before the changes on 1st July 2011. It is rumoured that after this time an offshore AQF will no longer be recognised!:arghh: We completed and sent the TRA form to our agent, he received it on 27/03/11. The agent rang today, 30/03/11, to say that TRA are no longer proccessing my OH trade and that it has to be done by VETASSESS. Does anyone have confirmation of this? I have trawled the internet and cannot find any info relating to this change. My OH has his qualification, I thought VETASSESS assesssed unrecognised skills? The TRA fee was $300, VETASSESS will want around $2,000. :swoon:My OH will have to have an additional technical interview lasting around 2 hours, he already completed a 40 minute interview for the AQF 111. Can anyone help to clarify this situation? Have certain trades been moved from TRA to VETASSESS? or is our agent diddling us? If I had sent the TRA application myself, without an agent, it would have been there by now, would they have just sent it back?:realmad: I would be really grateful for any info on all of this mess.:notworthy:

Hi, Our agent said it's around 4 weeks. In the same boat as you, OH just passed AQF so we are frantic trying to gather all the information we need for the TRA. We are self employed so we need to prove our business to the TRA. Just waiting for a letter from our main contractor to prove we have been in continuous work and one from our accountant :arghh:to prove we really are a business and then we can send it all off. I looked at some of the members stats on this site, it looks like some have completed the TRA in less time. We really need to submit the Visa application before the July changes, as I heard that an AQF qualification done offshore may stop being valid.

Hi, In the same boat as you I'm afraid. My OH passed AQF as he had no formal qualifications, (trained old school on the job). We are self employed and waiting for a letter from our accountant to confirm a period of self employment, and a letter from the company who has hired us for the last ten years. We are using a migration agent who said it takes around 4 weeks, although looking at the statistics of other members on this site some have got the thumbs up sooner.