angphil

Just a quicky really. We are happily living in Aus, after arriving to live here with a PR visa on 3/8/12. However, we came and activated our visa in April 2011. Does anyone know if we can apply for citizenship when we have clocked up 3 years (as we are allowed to be out of the country for 12 months) as we previously activated our visa, so August 2015. Or do we need to wait until August 2016, when we have actually lived in the country for 4 years? Cheers

We moved last July and love it here. We have left nearly all our money in the UK. We didn't want to give our UK house away, so it is rented out. We are making a small profit on it each month, which should pay for any maintenance. We are now saving up to buy here, we plan to build and with the $23500 new construction/first home buyers grants, we'll be good to go in May. In the UK my husband worked for himself and did quite well, I was a senior teacher in a large secondary school and we were always hard up working. Now my husband works for someone, comes home at a reasonable time and I only work 3 days a week. We are far better off than we were in the UK on a weekly/monthly basis. But the main thing is we spend so much quality time together as a family. Our kids love it here and so do we. if the house prices in the UK pick up and the exchange rate improves we will sell up in the UK and pay off our very large Aussie mortgage. But for the time being when we buy here, with a small saved deposit, we will only be paying $30 per week more than our rent AND our kids are growing up with us not working 24/7!

We got some info through about it, but I don't think my OH will go as there wasn't much for SA.

We were the same, my OH has done the ATRC (but he can't get the certificate until we get to Australia) and then he needs to to the PEER exam in SA and apply for his class A licence. It is different for different states and it is all changing soon too - just to make it more complicated! We are in Bingley, so round your way. Where are you off too?

Hi, Please can you see what you think about our car. Details below. Cheers 1) 2007 Renault Scenic 1.5dCi 106 Dynamique 60K mileage with aircon Diesel Manual 2) Market value in the UK £6300 3) Market value in Australia $13 000 to $15 000

They wouldn't send my OH's out without evidence that we lived there (like a bank statement or rental agreement). My OH wanted his sent so he had it when we arrived.

Just received an email from PEER saying, Also just so you are aware there has been discussion on a National Licensing system being introduce from July 1st 2012. It is unclear whether SA Licensing will change their process on gaining a SA Electrical License. Each state have not yet come to an agreement on which process they want to introduce, as other states don’t like the TRA method and want to keep the log book in action, however South Australia want to keep the TRA method. Either way Licensing goes you will still require to do the Wiring Regs course, just wanted to keep you up to date on what’s going on.

The 176 is a PR visa and you get free education and access to medicare etc. The only thing is you are promising to live in the state that sponsors you for a minimum of 2 years once you get there. We have 2 children so, I agree with you, wouldn't go without a PR visa. With state sponsorship it means you get extra points (hence not needing the VETASSESS) and your visa gets processed quicker than a 175. My OH runs his own business and says he's OK about working for someone else (I'm not sure he's been 100% honest). We are both looking forward to having a wage and not doing paperwork though!

Hi James, You are 100% correct I am a Secondary Maths Teacher and I did my skills assessment (costing about £300) and then state sponsorship for SA. My OH Paul didn't do any of the VETASSESS (as it would have cost a fortune). As soon as we got our visa he did the ARTC (as above) and that cost £200. He now justs needs to do his PEER wiring regs and then he will have is class A licence for SA. We were recommended to do it this way by a migration expert at an expro (the best free advice we have had). We were undecided for ages about which state to move to, but we decided SA as it was much easier for my OH to get his class A and start work straight away. When we went on our validation visit my OH was offered a job on a tram, just by chatting to someone and was told they are crying out for sparkies - let's hope that's the case! My best friend has just applied for her 176 visa (and for her family) and she is a mental health nurse and thay have done the same route as us (her OH is a plumber). She did the ANAMC assessment, IETLS and state sponsorship and they had enough points and saved a fortune. Someone she worked with moved to SA and they are crying out for mental health nurses apparently (but she was warned mental health care is a few years behind what they do in the UK). Good luck - let us know where you decide to go. Ang

Hi dunkl, It was a funny type of PDF that sort of sent it to ARTC when we put the payment info in (said submit). It was all saved on our computer until then. You do have to print off and send it in with all the evidence. Not sure what type of form it was, but we could check it online virtually straight away so we assumed it was submitted electornically too. Yes the dates are from this year, it was a bit of a relief to get it back so soon. Still not heard from PEER though, one hurdle done and another springs up.

Not sure if this is any use to anyone, but we wrote it down for someone else and it's good to share.:biggrin: Applying for the ARTC (electrical) Go to the www.deewr.gov.au/tra website and click on AUSTRALIAN RECOGNISED TRADES CERTIFICATE (not for migrations purposes) the grey section. You then need to click on the link on the main page and it should get you to here: http://www.deewr.gov.au/Skills/Programs/SkillsAssess/TRA/ARTC/Pages/home.aspx You then need to fill in the application form; it is a PDF that is linked to the internet, so you can save it at the end/goes directly to ARTC. My OH had started to fill in the VETASSESS forms before we found out it would be cheaper to apply for our visa through just my occupation, so most of what he put on was cut and pasted from the VETASSESS form. My OH wasn’t sure whether to tick electrical fitter or electrical fitter instruments, and ticked both in the end as he does domestic, commercial and industrial work. We think (not 100%) that electrical fitter is an electrician and electrical fitter instruments is control panels and industrial. With just electrical fitter instruments you cannot get a class A licence even if you do the wiring regs – you can only get a restricted licence. We were really honest and put our existing address down as when we get to Australia we just then need to get the certificate sent out. It’s my OH’s intention to go over and do the PEER course before we move to Adelaide in July, so he can start as a class A electrician virtually straight away. You pay $300 and have to save the reference from the receipt into the online form, before you submit. Once you have filled in the form you need to send a printed out cop of the form with certified evidence as follows (it tells you more info on the form): · Proof of identity (passport/birth certificate) · Proof of getting your visa · Passport picture · Proof of training/apprenticeship (lots of details needed) · Proof of electrical registration · Detailed references from employers (lots of detail needed) My OH is self-employed so he had to do all the above, plus sending in 3 references for work he’s done, 3 references from suppliers, letter head, tax details, accounts, photos of work..... In the end he’d filled a folder of info. But we were extra cautious as we’d got the visa through with my occupation, so he’d not done the VETASSESS/TRA. I posted the folder off to Australia so we could track it and it took about a week for the ARTC to receive it (you can log in to the online portal once you have paid and submitted your form to check how it’s going). It was received on 8th September and states on the website that it takes 30 working days to process. We received an email on 18 October as below: I am writing in relation to your application for an Australian Recognised Trade Certificate. The Australian Recognised Trade Certificate is administered under the Tradespersons’ Rights Regulations Act 1946. The Act stipulates that the Australian Recognised Trade Certificate can only be issued to an applicant who is currently residing in Australia. If you are not currently living in Australia, Trades Recognition Australia cannot issue the ARTC. When you become a resident of Australia, you will need to provide this office with verifiable details of your current Australian address. Once Trades Recognition Australia receives this information, we will be able to further process your ARTC application. Kind regards I nearly died, as I thought the 30 days would start again once we moved to Australia and if it got knocked back we’d be unable to nip in and get new info from old customers/suppliers. However, later the same day we got an email saying: ASSESSMENT OUTCOME LETTERS FROM THE INTERNET TRA has completed the skills assessment application. TRA provides an internet service to obtain outcome letters. To use the internet service to obtain the outcome letter you must first register through the TRA website at http://www.deewr.gov.au/tra - use the menu on the right side to navigate to ‘Skills Assessment for Residence Visa’, then to ‘Online Application Tracking Portal’. When registering for this service you will need to enter applicant details. Please do not reply to this email. Refer to the TRA website or information in TRA correspondence to contact TRA. Yours sincerely Trades Recognition Australia When my OH logged in it said he’d passed both electrical fitter and electrical fitter instruments. My OH is now trying to find out how to get the PEER regs done (he thinks there’s a 2 day course with a test in Adelaide), so he’ll have everything for his class A licence. If anyone knows anything about the PEER course in Adelaide and how you get on it that would be great.

Well after been overjoyed at my OH getting the ARTC for both electrical fitter and electrical fitter (instruments), he started to try and find out what he needed to do start the PEER wiring regs course. Because in SA once you have the ARTC and the wiring regs you can pay your money and get your class A licence. My OH does domestic, commercial and industrial electrical work, so put down for both electrical fitter and electrical fitter (instruments) as he does both on an almost daily basis. After a number of emails back and forth with PEERwww.peer.com.au , they were saying that my OH wouldn’t be able to get his unrestricted licence as his ATRC said electrical fitter (instruments) on it. After being in touch with the Occupational Licensing & Registration Consumer and Business Services ~ Government of South Australia www.ocba.sa.gov.au it turns out he can get an unrestricted class A licence as he has got both electrical fitter and electrical fitter(instrumental) on his ARTC and once he has completed his wiring regs for SA. It's so confusing, it's a right rigmorole getting the electical side done!