annever

Who did you book them with? Or did you hire a car?

It's pretty easy to go around Brisbane using buses and ferry. The bus to Mt Coo-Tha takes about 30 min. from the CBD. Train to the Gold Coast is very easy too.

For day trips, the visitor centre in Queen Street Mall can do the bookings and give you (usually) good advices. Given that you'll be there during low season, it shouldn't be a problem to find a spot.

For such a short visit the city sights are probably a much more realistic option. Whilst the Whitsunday's etc. are all lovely, equally for someone who has not seen the Sydney Opera House before, or taken in Bondi etc. then I think those are 'must do's' too. If you do go out to the harder (more time consuming) places to reach you'll lose seeing the amount you are planning to I would think, or spend more time travelling than seeing things.

 

Also, the places you are seeing in the cities are ones you only need a very short time to do, if you are coming back again plan for longer as places like the Barrier Reef you'll not want to rush so much I reckon... much better to have a bit longer to stay and chill on those places, than rush and do none of it well.

I agree, sticking to the cities will save you a lot of time in travel. There are many day trips organised from the main cities where you can discover the natural wonders (Blue Mountains from Sydney, 12 apostles, Philip Island from Melbourne, Tamborine mountain, Moreton Island from Brisbane).

Enjoy.

Hello,

I was wondering whether anyone had specific information about the marking of the IELTS tests.

 

To give this post some context, I am an English Secondary School teacher applying for a 189 Visa. So far I have acuminated 60 points, so I’d like to bolster my chances with the additional points awarded by completing the IELTS tests.

 

I have always considered myself relatively confident in relation to the four categories required; speaking, listening, writing and reading. However, after attempting some of the practice papers on the IELTS site, I am a little perturbed and concerned. Upon completion of certain sections I have had my answers marked incorrect when they are just a slight difference from the ‘correct’ answer.

A few examples:

A question requiring percentages, I wrote ‘85%’, the correct answer was ‘85’.

A question about someone’s inability to do something on a specific day, I wrote ‘she’s working’ the correct answer was ‘she is working’.

A question about the ideal size of a seminar class, I wrote ‘five and fifteen’ the correct answer was ‘5 and 15’!!!

I suppose my question is; is there a human element to the marking of these tests, or is it fully computerised?

Any advice would be of great help.

Tom

The IELTS has 4 parts. Writing and speaking are marked by a human being :yes: , listening and reading are based on a multiple choice first read by Optical Mark Recognition, then double checked by a clerical marker.

Well, if I understand it correctly, you have to be in Australia to receive the notification of the department's decision. Once you have this decision, you can travel while waiting for the ceremony.

This is on their website: "If you need to travel outside Australia after you have been approved for citizenship but before your ceremony, you must travel on your current passport. This will not affect your ability to attend your ceremony or become an Australian citizen. Before you depart you must ensure you have a visa that allows you to re-enter Australia for your ceremony. If the travel validity period on you permanent visa has expired, or is about to expire, you will need to apply for a Resident Return Visa.If you do plan to travel outside Australia before your ceremony, please let us know. Contact the Citizenship Information Line."

As such, what you really need to wait for in Australia is the decision. I hope I'm not wrong but it seems pretty clear from the website. For my PR visa, I didn't use an agent and always talked to the immigration officer directly to let him know my plan (I had to be outside of the country to receive my grant). They are very nice people

I am exactly in the same situation and my flight is booked for September. I know me and if I don't go, it will always be a thorn in my side and I couldn't be fully happy. To add to the insanity, we have 2 children who will come with me (they miss Australia sooooo much ) My husband doesn't really understand why getting the citizenship is so important but he supports me and he has already planned his visits for the next year. We have already been living apart for 9 months when he came back to Europe for his work and I stayed in Australia until the end of the school year. Our relationship did not suffer at all.

This is exactly what Rachel was explaining, I may never use this citizenship but at least I know I have it and that keeps all options open, especially for the children. We are so close that, in my opinion, it would be madness to let it go and re-do the whole process in 2020.

Good luck, whatever your decision will be.

Well, I’m one of those selfish mother for which there is little empathy because she wished to relocate for no other reason than trying an adventure in a new country.

However, my ex-partner and I did this in an adult way, leaving any bitterness behind us and discussing how our son could benefit from a great adventure in a new country, experiencing a new culture and learning a new language.

My ex authorised me to take our son to Australia and I’m doing my best to have my son call his father, skype him, send him pictures and gifts and keep him informed of what happens in his live (school reports, sport, etc.) as much as possible. He also came twice to spend holidays with him and they had a great time together.

I do not have the feeling that my son is torn and I discuss a lot with him to be sure he will never feel that way. I keep on telling him his father and I love him very much. If I ever see my boy unhappy about this situation, I’ll buy a plane ticket for the next day. It is crystal clear for him that I want him to spend time and visit his father.

I consider myself very lucky to have an ex that is able to bite the bullet and see the opportunities for his son and be happy for him rather than absolutely trying to put a spoke in my wheel and constantly whinging to his son how miserable he is because he misses him. And this is because he knows he can trust me, he knows I’ll never say anything negative about him and I’ll do everything possible to maintain the relationship and involve him in the important decisions.

I am convinced the distance will not destroy a relationship between a child and his distant parent if both parents behave like mature adults, have a positive attitude and collaborate. Being separated with children does not mean having to live the rest of your life stuck in the same city as your ex.

On the other side, frustration, anger and pain can destroy a relationship and there are numerous cases of parental alienation between parents living in the same town…

Hi everyone, merry Xmas and Happy New Year to all of you, may all your wishes come true.

Our visa has been granted on December 19th and I have to say that our CO has been really great. I don't feel like we have ever been in the waiting room. As soon as I had informed him that our last PCC had been delivered to their office by courier (took us a long time to get this one), he sent us the grant letter 10 min. later. He also answered all our questions almost immediately and kept us informed as soon as he had assessed a document. Good on him!

I would also like to thank you all for the informations and tips and tricks I could gathered on the forum.

Good luck for those still waiting, you'll be soon there. Cheers.

As the last March applicants, I can now say that my documents turned as "Met" today. Form 80, PCC and Medicals are marked as requested.

Thanks AAZZR and all the others.

annever posted earlier today - he doesn't have a CO yet

Hi everyone,

I wish I had something to share with you but no news yet, unfortunately :mad:

But I see that grants and CO are still coming in, congratulations to all.

I'm not too stressed about getting one this week, will worry when next update is out and its passed our date :jiggy: I'd much rather see a few grants come through!! The waiting room is getting too crowded:spinny:

 

2 left from March and 4 left from April...

 

Fingers crossed!

A

I will wait for the next update too. It should then have March covered, at least I hope so. I've read on another forum that a May applicant got a CO today so not bad I guess.

Hi to everyone,

I am also a "Marchian" now becoming seriously impatient when so many April/ May applicants already got CO and even grant, but many congratulations to all the lucky people !

Name: annever

Date of Visa application: 25 Mar 2011

Nationality: Belgian

High/Low Risk: Low Risk

Trade/profession: Internal auditor

Visa type: 176 Family sponsored

Onshore/offshore: Offshore

Pre-14th July 2010 Category (If applicable):4

Post-14th July Category: 4

Medicals submitted: Not yet

Police check submitted: part of them

Date CO assigned: Not yet

Date of employment verification (If applicable): N/A

Date visa granted: