Dr Ruaridh

Granted wrussell that I may have gone about things in not the most efficient way, but I wanted to convey to those coming over, that my way is possible - it got myself and my friends over and I'm loving it. I am not giving out migration advice, I am telling people how I went about it. As for St Louis...I dont quite get the reference, but I'll take a beach in Byron Bay over a city in Missouri. It is of course possible to go via a migration expert or agency to get your job, but the independent way allows more scope for finding jobs.

Hello all, I am a UK trained doctor who has just moved to work in Australia (from Aug 2012) for a year (at least). The moving process has been very long, arduous and stressful for me and several of my friends. Information on the net is at best hard to find, at worst simply incorrect. Here I have set out to update this for any prospective doctors moving to Oz. I aim to make it very comprehensive, so bear with me. Hope it helps. Details correct of August 2012, and of course, things could change. Summary: 1. Australian Medical Council (AMC) - takes roughly 2 months. Cost $600 2. AHPRA - takes 6 weeks. Cost $1277 3. Work visa (457 temporary business visa) - can take just 1-2 weeks if everything in place. Cost $340 application + £310 medical 1. Decide you want to move to Oz 2. AMC - you can do this part without a job in Oz, but you are spending £400, so you need to be committed to making the move: 1) Apply using AMC online application, I think choose all the possible territories which you may work in. 2) Pay your $600 - in my account this equated to £400 (ouch) 3) Obtain certifed copies of documentation: a) find nearest/cheapest notary public near you using this. http://www.thenotariessociety.org.uk/find-a-notary you can e-mail them for a quote b) an alternative is the Australian High Commission on the Strand. For all copies they would charge around £250 though c) For those of you in London, I used the very delightful Mr Brian Spear, in Southfields, who charged me £50 for the lot. (others quoted me up to £250) d) Ask for 2 copies of each of the following(you will need the other copy for visa application) e) Get copies of: Passport, driving licence, MBBS degree, Certification of FY1 competence from your hospital. I also got a copy of GMC certificate for good measure f) I recommend that you scan to a computer these notarised copies of documents. These can be added to your work visa application (see later) g) The notary will also need to witness you signing the declaration and sign it themselves h) Unfortunately, friendly solicitors cannot notarise documents cos this is going international 4) Request Certificate of Good standing from GMC: http://www.gmc-uk.org/cgs_online/ This will get sent DIRECT to Australia 5) Enclose 2 passport photos. This was a bit confusing, since some online stuff talks about 4 photos and proper certification of them, but I think these are now out of date. Just 2 photos with your name on the back will suffice. 6) Send to Australia. I opted for the courier service, which set me back £60 (more ouch), but is completely insured and guaranteed to get there I would suggest couriering together if you can co-ordinate with friends also moving. You will receive e-mail confirming receipt. About 4 weeks later you will receive a document saying: "Verification of Medical Qualifications" A couple of weeks after this, you will get one saying: Certificate of Advanced Standing EICS Verification Pending I think that is it. 3. Find a job in Oz 4. AHPRA: It is recommended that your employer hospital e-mails you a copy of the ALPS-03 Application (Application for limited registration for post graduate training or supervised practice as a Medical Practitioner) They must also e-mail you a copy of: Your position description and Your Training Plan Fill in your bits You will need to attach your 2nd certified copies of: Passport Driving Licence Your degree certificate(s) FY1 Competency A (non-certified) copy of AMC Cert of Advanced Standing A copy of CV Include a "certificate of proof of entry on the Register" which can obtained from GMC website Sign your training plans Now the Payment section really confused me, cos I couldn't find any definite cost for the "Application fee" and "Registration fee" on their website. Initially I put $1150 on the form, but they informed me that after I sent the application, but before I received it, they put their prices up. I sent an e-mail to the AHPRA person authorising her to take as much money out of my account as they need. In the end I paid $680 Application Fee & $597 Registration Fee (note this is for NSW, others may be higher). It may be an idea to just attach a note saying you authorise them to take money out your account. I should note they don't seem to have taken the money out my account (yet) - maybe I'm lucky You should then send the documents by post back to your hospital. This can then be counter-signed by your supervisors, and their bits filled in. Please note that the ORIGINAL signatures from both of you need to be on the documents. This caused no end of back and forth on my application, leading to a delay of about a month. They can then send it on to AHPRA PLEASE NOTE: following AHPRA registration, you will get a confirmation e-mail of acceptance "in principal". You can use this to get your work visa, but you will not be able to start work until you present in person to the AHPRA office in your state. Please bear this in mind when booking flights. I for example, am working in far north of NSW. I sent my docs to the Sydney office, but flew into Brisbane (cos it was closer). This meant I may have had to travel all the way to Sydney before I could start work. Fortunately they acquiesced to allow me to present myself to the Brisbane office instead. You can try e-mailing them, but I can't guarantee this will work in every case. 5. 457 Visa Your employer will sponsor you for a work visa. They will then send you a TRN (Transaction Reference number) which you can use to commence your visa application. It says the turn around time is 4-6 weeks, but some of my friends got it much quicker. The visa cost me £237 ($340) Once you have lodged your application, it will give you a TRN so you can check on your visa progress. Before they grant your visa, you will need to add documents to it, and have a medical Adding docs: I basically added everything I had: passport, driving licence, degree certs. An important bit is obtaining proof of health/travel insurance for at least your first month in Oz. After the first month, I understand you will be eligible for Medicare Once you have your TRN, you can also arrange your medical. This is of course annoying, since you have to pay £310 to some private GP for the privilege of doing something you could do yourself, but hey, lots of hoops to jump through. There are 3 GPs in London who are acceptable by the Australian Immigration people. Check the website and book in. You will need an X-ray, Hep B,C, HIV and a medical check. It was all pretty efficient, and they will send the results through automatically. And after all that, you can now enter the country of Australia HOORAY For my part, since my AHPRA didn't have both original signatures on it, that was delayed by a month, which meant I didn't have a work visa before I flew. I therefore applied for an eVisitor visa (free). This was delayed, because you're not meant to apply for a visa when you have another one pending. I therefore had to apply for an "emergency ETA" before I flew. I therefore entered the country on a tourist visa. My work visa was granted the next day. Don't try this....it is very stressful, but it is possible (this also happened to 2 other friends) Things you may need to do after arriving in Oz: Go to AHPRA (very quick really, they just check you are who you said you are). You will need you passport, and your Letter of Offer Find a house Buy a car Get a bank account (just need a passport and an address) Hospital documents: stuff to sign eg confidentiality, working with kids etc, but also immunisation history, so bring evidence of imms & TB checks etc Apply online for a tax-file number after getting a bank account (www.iar.ato.gov.au) Apply for Medicare Provider Number Apply for a Prescriber Number Apply for salary packaging. For me, this meant that I get my rent tax-free, saving a couple thousand dollars. Cancel your licence to practice in the UK. This is a controversial one. Registration with licence is £390, whereas just to be registered is £140. You can therefore save yourself £250, but bear in mind that most jobs in the UK will require a Licence to practice at the point of interview, so if you are returning to UK, it may be more trouble than it is worth. You can get your licence back by providing a Certificate of Good Standing from your current employer in Oz. I rescinded my licence, but most of my friends didn't Transfer MPS membership to its partner in Oz (MIPS) - just call MPS and they will send stuff through Right. Think that is everything. Let me know if you have any questions. Good Luck