cs569

Thank you. I didn't see before that you have a separate forum for asking a migration agent. Perhaps that should be my next stop.

I am in the process (again!) of gathering prerequisites (IELTS etc.) to submit an EOI. With superior English (fingers crossed!) and family sponsorship, I will just manage to squeak through with 60 points for a 489 (unfortunately 189/190 are out due to lack of points). However, I see that my occupation has been on the pro-rata list for some time, and furthermore there is a little note on the SkillSelect results page that states "If all places are taken up by subclass 189 visas then there will be no invitations issued for subclass 489 visas in these [pro-rata] occupations." Am I right to assume that my chances of ever getting an invitation at this stage are next to nil and that I would be better off trying a different route (such as direct sponsorship, as difficult as that may be)? I had state sponsorship and 70 points 4.5 years ago but the family was against moving then. Being over 45 is a real bummer!

Hi there, Finally just lodged my visa application! Fowler Family - I have VIC SS as well. Here's what I did to get the invite: 1) Replied to their sponsorship approval email (smp.applications@liveinvictoria.vic.gov.au was the email address) accepting sponsorship and provided my EOI number. 2) Waited for a while... no response to my email and no invite. 3) Called VIC up (phone number from their website is: + 61 3 9651 9756). May take a few tries to get through. 4) Spoke to someone who confirmed that they had received my EOI number, and were waiting for DIAC to give them the go-ahead to nominate more people (this was back in Aug when DIAC had restrictions in place on the number of people each state was allowed to nominate - I don't know what the situation is these days). 5) Literally got my SkillSelect invitation email within an hour of hanging up the phone!

Just as a follow-up (albeit much delayed due to personal issues), I just managed to lodge my visa application using Firefox on Windows 7. Internet Explorer 9 was still not working for me. Haven't uploaded docs yet though (one weekend of form filling is enough for now).

Just in case anyone else is experiencing similar problems, try using a different browser. I experienced a similar issue and submitted a request via the SkillSelect technical support website, and received the following reply (but have not tried said workaround yet): Good Morning, Thank you for your recent email, The Department is aware of this issue and is currently working on a resolution, In the meantime, we have had clients inform us that they have resolved this problem by installing a new browser (such as Google Chrome) If you can, please use this as a temporary work around until the problem is resolved. We apologise for any inconveniece caused Kind Regards eVisa Help Desk eService Support Section Client Strategy & Performance Division

I too have just received an invitation to apply (190) today!:jiggy: It seems that at least state nominated 190 invitations are starting to trickle through again. Good luck to all who are still waiting.

Just submitted an EOI! Now it's off to pack for my vacation to Oz!!!:cool: Btw, it's interesting that while I am still waiting for state sponsorship from either VIC or NSW, there appears to be no way to update my EOI once one of them does come through.I can check the box to express an interest in a 190 visa, but how do I indicate that I have already obtained state sponsorship? Cross that bridge when I come to it I suppose.

Concerning SkillSelect, I guess a lot remains to be seen on how the invitation process actually plays out. In principle, I see nothing wrong with Australia wanting to hand-pick applicants provided the criteria used in the process are transparent, fair and make good sense for the country. Getting it right though is another thing, especially where government is involved! Yes, I hope she will be able to see it for what it is and make an informed decision. Always hard to do though when you're on holiday, and even harder considering that we'll be accompanied by my parents, brother and his wife for much of the trip! Overwhelming!:arghh:

Good luck to you, memmymooch! Based on your assessment, I reckon you did the right thing by applying now. I guess for my situation the only reason I even considered risking going with SkillSelect is that I have a couple (yes, 2!:confused:) applications for SS in the pipeline, so if after we return from our trip and figure we absolutely love it and want to move there, we would potentially have options to do so (ok, so I am assuming quite a bit here).

To answer your question, no, I have not gone ahead with the 175 as yet (still have a day to decide). If I were in your shoes, I'd be inclined to agree with lebourvellec and apply now if you have the points. If for whatever reasons your application is rejected, then those same reasons would be likely to cause your SkillSelect-based application to be rejected too. It may make sense to wait if for example you're still waiting for state sponsorship to come through, or you have some other personal circumstances that demand you wait. There is no guarantee when it comes to immigration applications, so the question you should ask yourself is how certain would you be to move Down Under if you were actually granted a visa. The scenario I'm trying to avoid is spending $3000, getting the visa, and then not using it after all.

Well done, you are well and truly committed now! I'm sure all will go swimmingly now that you've lodged, but good luck to you all the same!

I now find myself in the enviable position of having enough points to lodge a 175, and can't quite bring myself to do it. I was all frantic getting the pieces in place to beat the deadline, but now that I have, I'm actually tempted to sit it out and wait for July 1st. We're visiting Oz in July to attend a wedding (was planned ages ago and had nothing to do with all this visa business), and this will be the first time there for the wife and kids. They might well end up hating it, in which case we'd likely pull the plug on the whole thing, saving the $3000 which we could really use if we choose to stay (and go down with the sinking ship, but that's another story entirely). Advice to you single folk out there - if you're thinking of giving Oz a go, do it now before you get hitched! To those couples without kids (who plan on having them eventually), it's far easier (and cheaper) to move 2 adults than a family of 3, 4 or more. And to the rest, the very best of luck to you with sorting out schools, uniforms, suburbs, childcare, dealing with kids' emotions about moving while managing your own, etc. My profession is still on the new SOL, and from what I've heard SS equals an automatic invitation to apply under SkillSelect, so I don't have much to lose by waiting. What I don't quite get though is how the occupation ceilings come into play - what if I have SS but the ceiling for my occupation has already been reached for the year? Is it pretty much over then until the next year? Sorry for the reflective, rambling intro to this post. But it would be interesting to know that there are people who are conciously deciding to put their faith in SkillSelect even as the sun sets on the "old system"!

Well, I just received a positive assessment from EA that my degree is equivalent to an Aussie one, but it wasn't necessary after all as the ACS made the same assessment in their result letter. Of course, I wouldn't have gone through all the trouble if not for the fact that we're up against this July deadline. Oh well, better to be safe than sorry.

Just received mine by email (PDF file) on 28th May 2012!

Sorry to hear that. Yes, ask for the writing to be remarked - you missed it by just 0.5, so there's a chance it could go up. But book another test anyway just in case. Try to analyse what didn't go so well with the essays, come up with strategies to address them, and practise. I found information on the websites http://dcielts.com and http://ielts-simon.com pretty useful. If you do take the test again, it's probably worth doing a quick refresher on the other sections as well as you'll still need 8s on them. Good luck!

Hey, I was at Portland too! Just got the results online this morning and..... L9, R9, W8.5, S9!:jiggy: Congrats to all who got what they needed, and if you didn't, good luck for your next attempt.

That so reminded me of what it was like when I first moved to the States. Though coming from Canada, that should be pretty familiar to you, no? I spend a lot of time in BC and they're just as friendly up there. Maybe it's different in Toronto? Anyway, thanks for sharing and glad you're doing well in Melbourne. With a lot of luck, we may just make it there someday!

Good luck mate. +1 waiting for results this week. I feel your frustration at missing it by just a hair. They really should look at the overall score.

Software Engineer for me. Though I think that matters less than how straightforward and "decision-ready" the application is. We shall see.

Hi ronkhu. I'm not sure whether ACS will provide any opinion on whether your degree is "of a recognised standard" (as required by DIAC in order to award points). I'm in a similar situation in that I don't have an ICT first degree, so I've applied to Engineers Australia (I have an engineering degree) to get it assessed as being equivalent to an Australian one. A total rip-off if you ask me, as one would think that DIAC surely should be able to assess your degree based on the evidence you submit to them. I'm just not taking any chances as I absolutely need the 15 points (on top of the 20-point IELTS royal flush which I'm still waiting for) just to scrape by with 65 points!

Awesome!!! Did Victoria actuallly ask you to send it in? Maybe you need to start a "VicSS taking flippin' ages" thread now.

I lodged towards the end of April, and within a day of them receiving the hardcopies, I went straight to stage 4 too. Last week, I decided (in a fit of panic) that I needed to add another employment reference to my application, so I emailed them. The response back was to go ahead and send it in, as my application "may not go to an assessor for at least 2 weeks". So when their online status says "With assessor", what they really mean is it's sitting in a pile somewhere. FWIW, their website does state that "All ICT Skills Assessment applications submitted to the ACS before 27 April 2012 that are decision ready will be guaranteed to receive a result letter before 1 July 2012.". Let's just hope their interpretation of "guaranteed" isn't as loose! Hope you get it soon aduffield76 - seems like 5 to 6 weeks is what others have seen of late, so hopefully in a week?

Thanks for all of your responses. Westly, the degree in question is a 3-year BEng (Hons) in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), awarded in 1990. It does show up as an accredited course in the Engineering Council's list, so it is a 'Washington Accord' qualification. I am having my skills assessed by the ACS for ICT, but on the basis of work experience + a post-graduate conversion course (a one-year MSc), which I hope the ACS will see fit to recognise. However, my concern is that they may deem it equivalent only to a diploma (does not meet the 3-semester requirement), and I do need the points for a Bachelor's to make the 65 points. I'm inclined to do what Daz suggests and get it assessed by EA anyway. I'm just a little reluctant to fork out another $275 (+ courier fees) for them to essentially just do a check that the degree is on the accredited list. But boy wouldn't I be kicking myself if after all the time, effort and $$$ spent I don't get the points because I didn't get my degree blessed by an assessing authority :mad:

Thanks huythai. I don't see the list of universities you mention on the DIAC website. Do you happen to have a link to it?

I'm currently waiting on ACS to do my skills assessment. The thing is, I need to claim points for my UK bachelor's degree which is not in Computing/ICT, but in Electrical Engineering. Must I have my degree assessed by Engineers Australia in order to claim points for it? Or will DIAC award the points on the strength of the degree certificate/transcript alone (it is listed as a CEng accredited degree by the UK Engineering Council). Anyone here been in a similar situation? I know loads of folks with other degrees who went into IT, so hopefully someone here can advise?