tomabbie

Been here in perth 2 years now and am struggling big time with homesickness at the moment. I really cant put my finger on it, I like Australia, on the whole most people I have met have been great, we both have good jobs and have just recently bought our first house. It just feels like something is missing, we have 2 teenage children who are now 17 & 15 who seem settled (it was difficult at first) but if anything as time goes on im less settled. Im so confused I dont hate the place but like I say it just feels like something is missing ?

Didn't get told I had a case officer just got an email with my visa grant notice. I don't think they are obliged to contact you when you are allocated (though some do), they only contact if they need more info but if you have all the info they need they can make a decision easily and just email you with a decision like they did for me.

What a difference a day makes! Been super busy at work today and didn't,t check my email until just before I left at 6pm and the golden email was there, in fact had been sat in my inbox since 7.32am this morning! ENS 186 granted, been PR all day and didn't realise. Super super elated, hope everyone else gets theirs soon! Here is my timeline. Nomination submitted: 28.3.2013 Nomination granted: 18.6.2013 Positive skills assessment: 12.7.2013 (applied 3.3.2013) Midwife Visa application (non DR without MA): 13.7.2013 Visa grant: 15.8.2013 Happy, happy, happy. Good luck to everyone else waiting x

Very fed up today, spoke to DIAC today and they reckon its taking 6-8 months for a CO to be allocated for the 186. Wasn't sure wether they meant from initial employer nomination or my application and were very short with me on phone wouldn't tell me where my application was at. If its from employer nomination (28.3.2013; approval 18.6.2013; visa application 13.7.2013) then I don't have long to wait but if its from my application on 13.7.2013, have still got a long wait ahead :-(. So much for being in an in demand profession (midwife). Hoping they are wrong because reading this timeline it seems some people's are much quicker.

Just a quick question. My nomination was submitted 28.3.2013 and approved 16.6.2013, the nomination approval email / letter had a case officers name/email on (the submission just had the generic email address on), does this mean this is my assigned case officer? My application has been in a month now (had to wait for my skills assessment to come back before I could apply, it took forever!) and have still not heard anything from this CO, does anyone know if the CO who approves your nomination goes on to be the CO who assesses your application? Thanks Kirstie x

Applied for mine 3.3.13 and didn't get it back until 12.7.2013 and mine was only a modified one. Kept getting emails from them telling me about huge delays and expect to wait 16 weeks, sorry.

Here's my timeline for 186 ENS (direct entry stream) Profession: Midwife 21.5.2012- arrived in Perth on 457 28.3.2013- nomination lodged 19.6.2013- nomination approved 12.7 .2013- Positive skills assessment received (applied 3.3.2013) 13.7.2013- Visa application made (non DR, applied without a MA). Front loaded with police checks & meds. Now the wait.............anybody know how long Perth office is taking at the moment?

Hi Have been in Perth for a year now on a 457 and have just had my nomination approved for the 186 PR visa. I am being super prepared by getting police checks etc ready and medicals for my family but am unsure as to whether I will need one??? I had a very thorough medical for my 457 visa as I'm a healthcare worker (midwife) which when reading the DIAC medical requirements for PR involves more tests than the standard one (extra blood tests). If I have to pay to have it redone I will but but wonder if there any other nurses who know the answer to this, I spent ages on hold to DIAC the other day only to be told that they weren't sure and it was down to the individual CO and as I ahven;t been assigned one yet I can't ask. Help!! Kirstie

This Sunday 20th May!

Hoping someone can help. We made the very difficult decision to leave our 8 year old cat behind in the uk but the people who said they would have her have given backword at the 11th hour (we fly on 20th!) Don't know what to do, I don't want her to go to strangers and would rather take her instead but fear may I have left it too late for vaccines etc. Any advice would be appreciated, is it achievable at this late hour? Thanks Kirstie xx

Just feel like my head is going to explode. Flights are booked for 20.5.2012 and have pretty got everything else organised both here and in Oz, just a few final things that I can't do till just before we go so why do I feel so stressed? Really am majorly panicking and dont know why, is it too early to have a G&T at 8.20am? Need to go back to bed and hide under the covers and hope I feel better later on. Sorry for the rant Kirstie xxx

$100k, I wish! Starting work next month in Perth as a midwife on $70k, thats top of the scale as Ive been qualified 10+ years, starting salary is $50k (in Perth). Wouldn't change my job for the world though and the pay is better than the UK.

Pm me your email and I'll send you a copy of my cv kirstie xx

Mine was the same, took about 10 days from that point provided NMC sent it when they said they did. So not long now it's such a relief when it comes through!

Take a deep breath and prepare yourself for the joys of APHRA. In respect of your questions: 1 -Personal information is just what it says its, I didnt put a personal staement in this bit because I wasn't applying for a job 2- Qualifying examinations I put my academic qualifications there eg. diploma in nursing, BSc Hons Midwifery, PGDip Public Health and put my qualifications eg. registered nurse, registered midwife etc in the qualifications obtained. 3- Academic transcript, it needs to be a breakdown of your degree/diploma from your uni and for the courses that also confered registration with the NMC it also needs to have a breakdown of hours. I requested mine from my unis and had the orignal notorised by notary and that was accepted. You can ask the uni to send it direct but I prefered the knowledge that I had done it myself. 4- Clinical/procedural skills, yes just put in all the things your competent at and any relevant certificates. 5- Intern/observership, I didnt do anything about that and left that section out completely and was absolutely fine. If it helps I could send you a copy of my CV if you want to see what mine looked like, I also have electronic copies of the documents I sent to them if you want to see what my transcripts look like. PM me your private email and will send them to you. My application to APHRA was approved without any hiccups in under a month. Kirstie xx

I bought an annual travel insurance which covered us for trips up to 60 days to cover us until we register with Medicare, they accepted that no probs £60 for a family of 4 Kirstie x

Sent mine to Perth kirstie x

Just to throw a complete spanner in the mix, got my letter of eligibility through the other week. I didn't put any of my cpd in like mandatory training just major significant post registration courses like teaching & assessing, family planning certificate and post graduate diploma etc. I too have been qualified as a nurse since 1994 and subsequently as a midwife and HV. APHRA didn't ask for anything additional to what I sent, they received my application on 7.2.201 and I was approved on 5.3.2012 but realise I've been very lucky!

Hi Kerry My visa was granted this week and instead of being estatic I keep bursting into tears. I still want to go and am thinking of the future for my children but it's incredibly hard to leave behind everything you know and love. Mothers day is hard today knowing I won't be with my mum next year. However I don't want to get 10 years down the line and regret not going to oz, if the worse comes to the worse I know we would be welcomed back. I pretty sure what you and I are feeling is completely normal. Big hugs and stay strong Kirstie x

When I sat my ielts the lady in queue in front of me had left her passport behind accidentally but as she had other forms of I'd they let her sit it .

Lodged my application 3rd march ( Friday) Contacting by CO on 6th march requesting medicals / health insurance (i work in health so knew I needed a medical so had it done on 5th march) Medical uploaded and referred 7 th march Medical finalised and insurance uploaded 9th march (Friday) Visa approved 12th march (Monday). Not bad considering 5th of march was a bank holiday in western Australia!

Hi Just had my 457 granted this week. I bought an annual policy which covered us for trips up to 60 days duration, and just told my case officer I would register with medicare and buy private health insurance when I got there. Visa approved without a problem x

Congrats to you too!:cool:

:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin: Uploaded my insurance docs to my 457 application last night at 5.30pm last night. Checked my status this morning, my visa has been approved!!!! From application to approval took 5 working days, applied and had my medical last tuesday, refered on wednesday, medical finalised on friday, health insurance requested monday, approved today!! Estatic (and a little bit scared), have now got to go to work and keep it quiet all day as my manager is on leave!:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

As a rule have found Australian interviews to be generally more relaxed. I have had 2 telephone interviews for midwifery posts and they were much less formal and more like chats. It's not like the uk where you are competing against lots of other applicants. That said prepare as you would for any other interview, find out as much as possible about the organisation as possible and have some questions ready. Good luck!