linshorton

Thanks for the info. His company are unaware of the rules despite being an international company! Hopefully this delay will give us a couple of months more to either find another job or make the most of what we have already planned to do. Sent from my iPad using PomsinOz

My husband is the visa holder but the work has run out 1/2 way through the second visa. This is the second 457 visa so have been so lucky to have been here for this long. Due to our age we can not apply for PR. I have flights booked to visit my frail mother in NZ at Xmas so this termination will have an impact on that trip plus we love living in Australia. I have been working for the same job for the last 5 years but don't think I can be sponsored as I am now a casual (hospital scientist). Reading around we've read we have 90 days or ? 60 days but not sure if he can still be employed and paid for some of this time. Not sure what the employers obligations are. Only just found out so still in shock. Would be grateful for any info...thanks

Thanks. We will have to get moving on this as time a gone by very quickly so far!

Thanks for the advice. I see you had to do your IELTS too! That was fun!

Hi, We have been in Melbourne for just over 2 years. We would like to stay here (from UK). My husband is still in the job he came over to do (on 457 visa) and I landed a good job as well. We want to stay and we realise time is running out. Can someone recommend a reliable solicitor/lawyer in Melbourne that can advise us please? Does anyone know the general cost and how long it might take? We have a son here as well and hope we can include him as well as he is on our visa. We really like it here so don't want to return in the near future or ever. Would be very grateful for advice, Lins

Hi Joanne, if you go on the AIMS site and find the application form you will comes across the IELTS bit where I initially thought I could skip it but it says "no exceptions". I was in the UK then so I thought I would wait and see when I got here. You could get a job in a private lab without the AIMS assessment but the pay and job interest wouldn't be as good. The good thing about having the Aims assessment as it has been converted to something an Australian employer will understand. You have to do the IELTS first. Look at comments on this site! You need to be aware of set up to pass. I was worried when I heard people from the UK had to sit it a few times. You can do that in the UK. Once you have that... $330 you can then submit your thousand certified documents to AIMS. You need a reference from your employer. I used 2 of my bosses. Being multidiscipline seems to help so I tried to use shared analysers eg HPLC for Hb opathies which the chemists use for HBAIc. Any connection you can dig up is worth it. I think so more do multidisciplinary degrees now but I didn't. I did do an MSc in biomedical sciences online through Ulster uni. My research project was in genetics on polycythemia. I don't think it helped that much and I am not a fellow of the institute here. I am keeping up my registration with the UK just in case we have to go back. If you have a multidisciplinary degree that will help a lot. We love it here but my job is extremely tough! Standard of living much better here and we are much better off We have just arrived home so better sign off. If I have missed anything just ask. best wishes, Lins

Hi, I am now employed as a senior scientist in coag at St Vincent's in Melbourne. There was no choice, I had to sit the IELTS for AIMS but luckily I seemed to have enough cross over with biochem though hadn't actually worked there. It cost in total 1030$ but worth it. My boss from NZ had to do the exam and he thought the IELTS test was worse! Feel free to ask any more questions. Lin

Did you ever find a good dentist? I have just moved to Melbourne. The Patterson Lakes one sounds good but a little far away as in St Kilda West. I went to a dentist in Penrith in NSW. Very scary! She flossed as if she was going to rip my teeth out and scraped so hard it hurt for a couple of days. I longed for my UK dentist who always said my teeth didn't need much cleaning. This dentist for some reason wanted to re do my fillings for a cost of $2000! I paid my bill for the torture and never returned. My teeth feel fine at the moment. If anyone knows a trustworthy dentist near this area I would be grateful as very worried now! Thanks, Lins

We have been in Melbourne for 8 weeks and the weather has been great! I am sure the winter will be shorter than the UK ones. The sea is warm and there are no sharks in the bay!

Definitely easier to survive in Australia! We rented our UK house out as no time to sell. We are in the south and have had not trouble getting someone in. We have an agent and they only charge 10%. We are renting here and couldn't afford to buy the place we're in. Doesn't seem a good time to sell in the UK especially at the moment.

Hi Howard, We are now confused about HCF cover which we are one. We are on a 457 visa and told originally we need overseas private health insurance. We are from the UK so are on the medicare reciprocal card. HCF have messed us around from the beginning and changed us to an Australia HCF as told us that we were now entitled to it and could claim back the medicare surcharge. Just visited the Melbourne office (moved from Sydney) and were told we're on the wrong policy but weren't sure what to do so are looking into it. I looked at Bupa and we I am sure should be on the overseas one. I thought HCF were the experts. This means we have been paying 550 a month for no real cover. Sounds like the dental cover is OK. Need to find one in Melbourne now. Hope you can help!Thanks, Lins

Thank you for the tips. I have the transcripts of the conversations in the back of the practice books so I read them out loud, recorded it on my mobile and then did the test. Being calm and not panicking seems to be very important! Luckily my speaking bit is on Wednesday and the rest on Saturday. I would have got the cd if I had realised how tough the test was! thanks again. lins

Hello again, I am getting very worried about the listening test. Just doing the general . Hope you can help. Does the speaker talk fairly slowly? I have a hopeless memory especially when nervous. Is it better to take notes as you are listening or just try and answer each question as you go. Just scared I will miss the first one and panic! Thought this was going to be easy! Just using some books from the library which are useful, Thanks! lins

Is the AIM you mention the Australian Instiute of medical scientists? I am hoping so as I am in Australia and hoped I didn't have to do this but I do as well as the English test. If you have been through this I would love to find out if I am not just going to waste a lot of money to tell me I don't fit their criteria. They don't seem to have had many uk people through the system and I know no one working here in a similar job. i hope all is going well for you here, lins

Hello, I qualified in the UK specialising in haematology and transfusion. I just would like to speak to someone who has actually got a job here as it seems like I will have to do an English exam, assessment of qualifications and at the end of that if I am lucky I will then be able to sit an exam. This will cost at least $2000. If this is the only option then I will do it but if there is any way around the system I would be interested to find out. I have had many years experience and was really looking forward to working. If you or anyone you know is working in that field or similar I would be very interested to hear your stories, I am allowed to work as am over here on my husbands 457 visa. Thanks