dthomp123

190 visa still 50 age limit, no? Although who knows what other bombshells they may announce on 1st July. Our EOI is ready to go for Friday when they are re opening the list for our code and state. We can't do anything before then. But If they announce a change to the 190 age limit, the dream is over for us.

It's difficult to get the points at 45+. But not impossible. We're doing it. But need not only the main visa holder but also partner points (both have to be on the same SOL or CSOL list). And extra points for State Sponsorship (190 visa not 189). And a superior English test pass. 60 points If you're happy to live in a regional area I think you can get a State sponsorship for five additional points, maybe as an alternative to Partner points It's massively challenging. Doing both our skills assessments was crazy, one of us had to go back twenty years for relevant references . But we got them both. That should have been the tough bit. But now husband is struggling to get superior score needed on the English test. And in the meantime, his code as main visa person has been temporarily taken off the State we were going to apply for. If it doesn't go back on, we're in trouble as, like you, we can't go in on a 189, even though he's on the SOL, because we just can't get the points. There's also the danger the State will increase the minimum number of points needed to more than 60 for his code when it does reappear - as some other states have done We've come so far, we're determined to see this through now. But we know that after all the hard work and expense up to now, it could go wrong if that code doesn't re appear on the State list. And if he simply can't get superior English! Our ages really limit our options We're being helped by a good agent But our advice to anybody would be to just do it, if you're younger and think you want it. At least get the visa and give yourself that five year window. It always feels like you have all the time in the world when you're younger And there are always reasons to procrastinate - there's rarely a perfect time for such a huge life change But realising it's your last chance really focuses the mind For us it may still be too late - but we're proof that getting enough points is possible in your mid- late forties, if you have a skill on the list, and if the stars align

Thanks for that I'll give that a try !

Hi there, Please can anyone help or advise ? I am just starting preparations for the IELTS General Test following a couple of fails on the PTE last year (mainly speaking). Please does anyone know of a good tutor in the North London area to assist me to score enough for my 20 points, as I can't think of an easy way to know if my speaking is ever going to be up to standard ? I know I can practice the reading and listening parts as they are just 40 questions with a right / wrong answer so it is easy to work on. The writing part also has model answers but it also would be good to know if my written work is up to standard, though this part concerns me less as writing was my best score on the PTE and the essay time seems quite generous on IELTS. Many Thanks Dominic

Thanks, best of luck to him ! I would be interested to know how he found it compared to the PTE.

Hi there, I know its abit late with this post but how did you get on in the end ? I've failed my PTE twice now (first on speaking then on speaking and reading) and am thinking of getting a tutor or taking a different test (or both !) Regards Dominic

Hi there, My scores from first attempt was: L 88 R 88 S 67 W 90 Then after lots of speaking practice: L 89 R 76 S 69 W 88 The only thing I can think of for my failing the 2nd speaking section was the fact that my pen didn't work for the first retell lecture and this threw me somewhat as I fumbled around to find and get the other pen into action. I'm not sure about a third attempt at the PTE as without feedback to know where I am going wrong I'd worry that I will just keep on failing it. I'll probably get a session with a language tutor who knows what is expected for IELTS speaking and perhaps go on to try this exam instead, here in London it seems to be a well known exam, it may be that I am not suited to a fast paced computer based test ! Regards Dominic

My husband's just got his results. Got superior (which we need) in everything - except speaking, where he scored 64 points He was pretty worried about all of it, so I'm pleased he did so well in All the other areas. But he's concerned that when he does the test next time he could just fail in another area. Does that tend to happen? And does anybody have any tips to help him raise his speaking score specifically? He's been working on this and revising for the test for many, many weeks, so isn't sure what more he can do. He's very softly spoken generally so I wondered if that may have contributed to the low speaking score. Although he did his best to speak confidently during the test itself Would really appreciate any advice both to help boost his speaking score, and raise his morale! I know people do pass eventually having failed first time. Just need to know how, when he's already studied so hard Many thanks

We do have a really good agent, so will consult. But I was really curious to find out sooner if anybody else had been in this situation. And thought it might be useful for others to know the options too . Thanks for your help

Yes, that's a good idea. I know from doing this for my own skills assessment that it's a bit of a protracted process if you need to go back more than six years. But we will definitely get in touch with them to see. Thanks

Hi Bungo We do need more than ten years unfortunately, because of a weird thing the ACS does with work years. Apparently it 'takes' four years of his experience for the skills assessment, and won't then allow him to then put those years towards the main visa application requirement for work years. I don't think any of the other assessing bodies do this. So he needs 8 years + at least four more years. And we want to try for a bit more, in case some of that work experience doesn't 'count' for the ACS. IT has changed a lot over the years, so have to allow for that around his ANZSCO code description. Because we're talking so long ago I'm pretty sure he doesn't have payslips or P60s either. He does have pension information though from some areas of old employment, which proves he worked there. I wonder if that would be acceptable? Thanks for your reply.

Hoping somebody can advise We're at the start of our visa journey, and currently doing our skills assessments. Because we're quite old, we need to show a lot of work experience to give us maximum points. However - two of my husband's former employers have come back to us so far to say that they no longer have his records as it was so long ago - so they have been destroyed according to data protection and/or because the company has been taken over and they didn't retain any records from that far back He's our main visa person (skills assessment through ACS) and has been told he has to have proof of work from each employer, on headed paper, dates, his role, and a list of duties/responsibilities. Has anybody who's done a skills assessment through ACS had a similar problem, and found a solution that's worked? I've seen something on here about statutory declarations, but not quite sure what these are or if they are equally acceptable for all assessing bodies. If we can't prove the relevant work somehow we won't have enough years. Especially as the ACS 'deduct' years from the skills assessment from the overall visa application. Which was also a bit of a shock. Many thanks in advance for any help

My husband is a controls engineer, but EA didn't seem to have a code for what he does (they even admitted this to us at an open day!). Result was, he got some kind of vague 'Computing Engineer/Other' code which doesn't really give him an obvious focus, and doesn't recognise his electrical experience at all. It was all based on his degree. It did all feel a bit random and does show they classifications they offer don't always seem to reflect the job. Good to hear you can ask them to re-assess - although would love to know what the correct code should be!