Petkula73

Ulcerative colitis

My wife had ulcerative colitis in the late 90s and it's horrible. Basically her whole colon was covered in ulcers for about two years, which really impacted on her quality of life. She was pumped up on hydrocortisone too, which bloated her out and added to the general lack of well being.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, she was living in Finland at the time and the Finns have a very aggressive surgical policy in dealing with it, so in 1999 she had the whole of her colon removed and an internal pouch created from her small intestine. Sounds extremely dramatic, and it was at the time, but after around three months she was more or less back to normal and fifteen years on she's never looked back. Other than a scar there's really no sign that she had previously been that ill.

The certification courses without experience is probably a waste of investment.

Completely agree. I've recruited various IT contractors in my role as a project manager and probably one of the things I'm least interested in is what certification they have. At the end of the day, if you're sitting in front of me I'm going to assume your skills and experience are adequate and it's all much of a muchness when comparing one person with another. You can have as many bits of paper as you like, but as an employer you need to prove to me that you can actually do this job, not sit in a classroom. The main factor I look for in a candidate (assuming their CV is acceptable) is would this person fit in with my team dynamic? The second one would be things like will this person make my life easier or harder? Do they have a personality? Can they express themselves? Do they need a lot of prompting or hand holding? Do I trust them? And most importantly, do they actually look like they want this job? If you can demonstrate that to me you'll shine in an interview. I wouldn't bother to ask you loads of technical questions to try to catch you out as I don't want to recruit someone who's learned something by rote. Perhaps the best answer I've heard in an interview to a technical question was from an Oracle developer who was asked what he'd do in a pretty complex technical scenario. "Dunno", he replied. "I'd go and Google it probably". He got the job.

The so-called skills shortages are a scam, false, and a rort. There is an over-supply of skills in IT and other sectors in Australia and there are not enough jobs. Why are professionals driving taxis and doing menial work? We migrants are actually disillusioned, especially those who come from Asian and African countries and the Indian subcontinent.

Depends... The thing to remember about IT jobs is there's no real value or money to be earned doing the technical side of things. Anything that can get outsourced and off-shored generally does. This isn't unique to Australia.

Where the money and demand is greater is for people who can manage these outsourced relationships. So things like Project Management, Service Delivery and Business Analysis are better skills to have than, for example programming skills. It's a bit of a cliche, but programmers, developers and support people are ten a penny in places like India. However, getting them to do what the business requires is where the skill comes in - i.e. designing the functional spec rather than coding.

If you've experience as a PM or BA and can translate what the business wants in to something tangible you're definitely in demand, not just here in Australia, but in the UK, US etc.

I've 20 years experience in IT and my best advice is if you don't particularly like IT you'll get on much better in your career than someone who does - i.e. IT is a means to an end for most companies, not the reason they are there. Push yourself more towards the business side and away from licking the wires if you want better job opportunities.

Thanks - good post.

A good friend of mine developed severe depression a few years back. He went from outwardly normal to being sectioned under the Mental Health Act in the space of around six months.

The main thing I learnt as a friend was not to judge, not to make light of it (the normal "snap out of it" type ideas people have) and to understand that this was a very serious illness, in the same way heart disease or diabetes is. It's never a case of people feeling sorry for themselves.

Reading some of the posts here reminds me of how daunting this process is. We received PR last November and it was a huge relief. Some general advice for anyone tearing their hair out at the moment:

- "A watched pot never boils" - bit of a cliche, but it's good advice. If you're looking on the IMMI website daily (like we were) you'll drive yourself mad.

- This won't last forever, although the uncertainty makes it feel like it will.

- No amount of pushing will make this happen any faster. It'll take on average 3-6 months to process, so don't have unrealistic expectations

- Be organised though - don't wait to get your documents lodged and medicals done. Police checks take time to process, so put the requests in as soon as you apply.

Best of luck to everyone.

Jodie135 - nothing to worry about, although I know it doesn't feel that way. We did the 186 ENS transition from a 457 last year without a migration agent and it went through in roughly 10 weeks. The frustrating thing for you is not having any updates from IMMI, but what'll happen is you'll get an email completely out of the blue one day either telling you that the CO has been assigned and they are doing the final checking and you need to provide X, Y or Z, or you'll simply be notified that the application is approved. Nothing you can really do in the meantime except sit and wait. As someone said to us at the time "a watched pot never boils" which was a great piece of advice. You'll be fine.

PR granted this morning.

186ENS Transition Scheme

Timeline

Employer Nomination 20/08/13

Visa Application 20/08/13

Visa Grant 06/11/13

Melbourne Office

British Citizen, IT Manager

They know how to get money out of us; thats for sure

Yep - that's something like $12K we've now paid for a family of three. No agent fees, just all visa, medical and police fees.

I love Australia though, so it's worth it!

Just received an email from a case officer! Hooray!!!

 

They are asking for proof of English language skills for my wife. She's originally from Finland, but she lived and worked in the UK from 2000 to 2011 and has worked in Melbourne from 2012 onwards. What is the most appropriate proof here? Don't want to spend any more money on this unless we have to - spent a fortune so far...

 

Anyway - huge relief to hear something!

Or so I thought!!! Turns out IELTS can't be taken after the application has been submitted. I'd not done this when I submitted the application and all therefore seemed lost! After 30 mins of pinging emails back and forth (and feeling like jumping out of the window!!) it transpires that you don't need to prove the English language skills if you pay an extra $4250.

Bit the bullet and paid it, so the rest should be a formality.

What a plonker, eh!!

Just received an email from a case officer! Hooray!!!

They are asking for proof of English language skills for my wife. She's originally from Finland, but she lived and worked in the UK from 2000 to 2011 and has worked in Melbourne from 2012 onwards. What is the most appropriate proof here? Don't want to spend any more money on this unless we have to - spent a fortune so far...

Anyway - huge relief to hear something!

ok guys, so we got the email today, PR granted. that was intense, the CO actually sent us a form 80 to fill last night, we did and this morning got the grant. Phew!!

 

92 days from the visa application. those days felt like eternity but all done now. Goodluck to those of us still waiting.

Congratulations!

The waiting drives you mad doesn't it?! We're 75 days in now and counting.

Quick one - bit of advice please. No case officer yet, but getting all the paperwork in order. My wife has made an error on her Form 80. Is she best to cross this out and submit the corrected form as is, or start a new one from scratch?

My thinking here is that we submit the corrected one and the CO can then ask for a new version if required. Is this a bad idea? Is it better to just bite the bullet and complete a new one now?

No MA or DRC.

 

Nomination and Application lodged on the same day: 30/08/2013

Nomination Approved: 18/09/2013

Visa grant: N/A

 

Don't know if we have a CO assigned. Is there a way to find out?

 

19 days to get the nomination approved is really quick.

Someone please correct me here as I am probably wrong, but wouldn't the CO normally approve the nomination? If so, then I think they would normally deal with the application at the same time, if one has been submitted.

Looks like Perth and Sydney are a lot faster than Melbourne! Best city in Australia, but seems like the slowest immigration office...

10 months - that's absolutely dreadful!

Should be Australia - i.e. where you currently live and work.

You might be jumping the gun on Scottish Independence too - it's still part of the UK at the moment:wink:

60 days for me so far. Set my expectations for Jan/Feb for this.

Hi all ..

A happy day in my life .. !

 

Nice one!! You applied on the same date as me - really quick turnaround time. Let's hope things get moving quickly for everyone else.

I guess the frustrating bit for everyone is it takes so long to be assigned a CO. Once the CO is assigned things seem to get done and dusted very quickly. I submitted on 20th August so there could be thousands still to go until I'm at the top of the pile. We have everything in place though, so once the CO gets hold of the application hopefully things will move very quickly. I'm reckoning on Christmas or early next year. Nothing to do but sit and chew the finger nails!

Thanks duffer. It took me a couple of hours at most (rereading every question a hundred times). Mine was very straightforward. The worst part is filling out form 80, but you don't need to add that or upload your documents straight away....I took a few more days.

 

If you did your own 457 application you'll have no problems with it.

 

Good luck

Pozz - I'm on the same visa route as you - 457 transition, no MA, no DRC.

Is Form 80 required? On the DIAC website the list of required docs doesn't include this - was it something you were specifically told to include or were you covering your bases? I've part filled out Form 80 but not posted it yet. If I can avoid listing every country I have visited with dates it would be a bonus as I have a job where I've spent a lot of time travelling.

Children don't need Xrays or blood samples. The medical for kids is really simple and for a baby it should be a formality. For my daughter (aged 5) the nurse measured and weighed her, did a very basic eye test (telling what the pictures on a chart were), tested her urine. The doctor then checked her with a stethascope, checked her glands in her next, stomach, spine and ankles. That was about it. Still cost $300+ though!

Don't sweat the medicals - they're not so strict unless you have a long medical history or they find something seriously wrong. I passed and I'm in terrible shape...

I've not really much experience here, but the general advice (which we followed) is to submit the visa application at the same time as the nomination. The current wait times seem to be 4 months or so, but I was told yesterday to expect a 5-8 month wait.

The best advice is (I think) to get your application posted and then complete and post all the necessary documents on the website ahead of a case officer being assigned -i.e. don't sit and wait as it will take you several weeks to pull everything together anyway. I would also advise you to get the medicals completed once you have the reference number from the application.

Regarding the skills assessment and 457 question, someone else probably knows the answer, but my understanding is you can withdraw an application at any stage if you are ineligble. So if you applied for the 186 now and found out later you were ineligble, you would be able to withdraw and apply for a 457.

Best of luck.

47,250 is quite a lot though isn't it? 20% more than 2008 for example so they must still want us(!)

I spoke to the IMMI today and was told the wait was 5-8 months, but could be less. My timeline is:

ENS186 - 457 transtition scheme. No MA, No DRC

20/8 - Nomination submitted

21/8 - Visa submitted

21/8 - Acknowledgement of application

30/9 - Status update - no case officer assigned

We have all our documents posted on the application bar the UK police checks (what a total faff they are - can't believe you have to post a blinking cheque in 2013!).

If it's all resolved by 31st December I will be chuffed to bits.

Hi

I know it's not something that can be specifically answered, but provided the application is submitted correctly with supporting documents etc what is a "normal" time to go from application to grant?

Looking at the first posts compared to the later ones, things have speeded up for the ENS 186 route - is that correct?

Thanks

Thanks Craig. Bizarre that an old banger worth £500 is worth shipping. We spent 1500 on repairs last year so this might be better option than we thought as the car is mechanically sound and will trundle on for a few more years without issues.

Hi - we have a 59 plate Hyundai i30 1.4ES and wondering if it's best to sell or ship.

We bought this with a government scrappage allowance back so got a pretty substantial discount - we paid something like 8400 pounds on the road compared to 13000 list.

We have done circa 15,000 miles in it and it's still mint.

Looking at an equivalent model here it's about $15K for that age and similar spec so is it worth shipping?

Not my dream car, but it's a good A to B machine.

Our other car is a 2002 Volvo V70 T5 with 170,000 miles on the clock and worth 500 quid in the UK. Can't see this being worth anything other than selling, but any chance you could advise?

We're expecting we'll need to spend at least $15K to get something decent on the road over here.

Thanks