Henrik7

Hi There, i may be wrong but i am sure that i have seen some threads / posts on this type of subject before on the forum and that some people said to be watchful of what you do as if you are on a holiday visa then it should be treated as a holiday visa. ( unless its the WHV youve applied for ) this being that as your meant to be on holiday then you arent really meant to either undertake any work or actively seek employment. I may be wrong but something comes to light regarding this. Hopefully somebody may be able to clarify better but hope this may help. regards

Hi john, please can you advise if there is any positions available for trade painters and decorators. Currently got ielts of 7.5 and above in all four components. Have been working for myself for the last 7 years and have almost 20 years experience in total. also completed my formal apprenticeship in the craft of painting / decorating. with regards. John

Apologies for not being as clever as you rupert. especially for not being aware that both listening and reading can't be marked up, as you put it. If I had been aware of these so called facts, I do believe I would have saved myself the time and money by not appealing. Then again, if it wasn't a bit of a racket then surely the ielts officer who completed the enquiry on result paperwork and without any mention of the so called facts of non appealing would have and should have highlighted this basis and refused to take my money. In terms of age remark, this is in reference to the basis that this process of points scoring based on a persons actual age group is in someways bordering on discrimination especially in today's society. Eg I currently work in hr and when recruitment contracts, job adverts are written up or interview selections taking place, you are unable to even use the word age never mind highlight a preferential age group. Therefore no advantage is placed upon someone falling within a " desired" age group and as such given more favour during the scoring within the selection process. And as this is meant to be a forum for open discussion and opinion then maybe you should try to express your's in a more friendly manner rather than in the somewhat curt way.

Hi Debbio, sorry to hear that. I also got my second test marks through and messed it up. I need all 8's minimum but got L8,R7.5,S8.5 and W6.5. Actually did better than expected as did not enjoy the exam at all and was continually distracted by the invigilators and their actions during the exam from start to finish during the 3 exams in the morning have decided not to bother appealing as i feel would be a waste of time and money as I got the result of my appeal for 1st test back and was un successful. I had originally got L7.5,R8.5,W8 and S8.5 but they wouldn't mark up my listening to an 8. like a lot of people indicate on the forum, I'm also beginning to feel like this whole process is a complete money making racket, especially when your older in age. Don't know bout you Debbio but I'm starting to get to the despondent stage with the whole process have you booked another test.

Hi Folks I have started the process of applying for my trade skills visa and currently undertaking the IELTS test and getting prepared to send my trade paper work and TRA application form to Australia via my agent. I would be grateful if people could submit to this thread by means of discussing their current experiances of going through the process and what if any obstacles or challanges they have faced or are still encountering. Also would like if any painters / deccies who have made the transition can advise on what to expect and what to look out for in terms of job prospects etc and also whether there are certain states in which our trade is in greater need. Any help, assistance and shared experiance would be greatly appreciated. regards Henrik7

Hi Jo i am using immigration to oz, the agents name is John Adams he seems really clued up and on the ball. In terms of cost - dealing with them its taken in stages and depends on the individual as to how quickly or slowly they wish to take things. I originally started looking at doing this around Feb 2012 but due to cirumstances etc its only really been since August that i have moved things on, i wish i had looked at taking things quicker as i am hoping i dont run out of time due to age restictions ( i need to have TRA and IELTS completed ) and alos Expression of Interest lodged before i turn 45 or the game is up. In terms of cost - inital payment i made was £250 plus vat - terms of engagement, getting intial documentation and fact finding completed. and at moment £400 plus vat to get ielts and tra skills assessment completed.. at next stage will be £400 plus vat when submitting EOI and then at end when visa to be submitted the final instalment which will possibly be £800 plus vat. However this doesnt take into consideration cost of actually sitting the ielts exam (£130) plus a further £60 for appealing and then another £130 to do another. Also cost of getting a solicitor ( or similar ) to certify all documents, also $300 AusD bank draft for TRA Australia. hope this may help Jo.

Hi Jo in respect of your enquiry, i'm not sure how your circumstances compare to mine but i've started the process of looking at obtaining either 189 / 190 skills visa and depending on my points score will determin whether i go for state sponsership or not. although ive got a british passport, born and bred in scotland ( Uk ) educated and worked here all my life - still needed to sit the ielts test and due to my points circumstances need to resit this again ( this saturday ). The basis being that i had to score 8 + in all 4 components but got 3 @ 8.5 and 1 @ 7.5 and as such it is causing my points total to be less than the required 60. To be honest i am going through an agent and if was doing this on my own i may have given up. It all seemed staright forward but as i am self employed the amount of paperwork i need to accumulate is unbelievable for Trade Recognition Australia which only outlines certain aspects on their application form but if you download their guidlines it goes into far more detail and states a lot more paperwork needed than outlined on the form. If i hadnt got the details from my agent then i would possibly would have only completed the application form and as such it would have been sent straight back and i would have lost $300 aus dollars and would have to reapply again. Another factor which hasnt really helped my cause is the fact that being over 40 has dis-advantaged me in that the points for age i acquired is significantly lower than that of those give to seemingly more appropriate age group of being in your 30's. In any other walk of life DAIC would surely be hauled over the coals for age discrimination. Hope this may help in some way Jo

Yeh Mem normally when a cat or even a dog acts in this manner then most often than not it appears true, seems like they have a sixth sense regards j

Hi there, soz to hear about the problems being faced on the home front. Based on what you have written there is only one thing you should do and that is to go and make a fresh start for you and the kids. Nothing ventured - nothing gained and going by the way you have described hubbies reactions most defo nothing lost. best of luck and dont look back.

Hi Alison yeh having to go to Edinbugh to do it on 06.04.13 as the nearest available one in Glasgow was not until 27.04.13. i have also put in an appeal but have already been told that he chances of this getting marked up are slim to none lol possibly could be another £60 thrown down the drain on op of the £130 for resitting. just getting ready to send away my TRA stuff hopefully by the end of the week aswell just need to catch up with the person who is certifying it. Glad she is doing it for nothing, as if had to pay a solicitor then would probably cost me a fortune especially with the amount of paperwork and documents i need to get done as i'm self employed. here's hoping. j

Hi Alison hope all goes well, i did mine at the beginning of Feb, unfortunately only got 7.5 in listening and 8.5 in all the rest. as such need to have a resit as didnt realise that needed to get minimum of 8 in all 4 sections i had been on the understanding that you only needed an overall band score of 8... dus to this i have went from being 5 points above the required 60 to being 5 below due to a half mark in one test. Worst part of it was that when i had left my exam i really thought that i had done best in the listening and was worried that i may have lost out in he written part as did not complete the 250 words in task 2.. was about 20 words short when they called time. Not sure what other people think about the whole points process but i am starting find that more obstacles seem to be in place for people who are older which can be a disadvantage- for instance unde age score - as i fall in the 40 - 44 bracket you are given 15 points whereas if your in the age bracket under this you get 25. possibly in any other job application or so this could be deemed as age discrimination lol. regards john

Hi there hope everything goes well with getting TRA documents sorted out. Just thought i would mention that being self employed is slightly worse than what the paid emloyment guys go through, or so i feel. We need to provide at least 3 detailed customer references; at least 3 invoice / quotes from 3 seperate customers and then into the bargain at least 3 other customer contact details for each year of self employment which cant be the same as the 3 quotes; letters from accountants past and present aswell as accounts and tax returns for each year; at least 3 suppliers letters, also any other supporting evidence and a sworn personal statement. all of these which need to be certified by solicitor etc. On top of this the actual TRA application form into the bargain. I dont think ive ever written so much information in my life, felt as if i had been transported back to my school days. hopefully will be worth it.

Hi Cal, cheers. i had kinda heard that one of the pitfalls of the employer sponsered visa was that if the job fell through or if was terminated then you only get a certain amount of time to secure another employer sponsered role or you and whoever is with you are out on your ear as they say. with regards j

Hi there cheers thats much appreciated buddy. wasnt sure if any perspective employer would have to sponser aswell as offering employment. regards j

Hi cheers for the advice buddy. looks like the only way of getting it quicker would be if the empoloyer was also willing to sponser aswell, which probably in this day and age would be slim to none lol unless as you say who you know - just like back at home. regards j

Hi Ken, thanks for your response. yeh its the perm skilled visa im going for and it appears that my trade of painter and decorator is on the list and have enough points. though if i go for state sponsersehip it would give me more and quicken things up. i was kinda hoping that if secured employment pre hasnd then would maybe not need to do the IELTS test as having not studied for exams etc since 1995 lol i may struggle. any help and tips on this would help budy

Hi Folks just joined the forum today and would like to say a big hello from scotland. Looking for some advice if possible as just starting out in the process of migrating to Australia under the skilled visa. One of the first questions i have is - If a company was willing to offer you a job prior to starting the process or during the process of your application, would this help speed things up in lodging your application or do you still need to go through all steps, ie skills assessment, IELTS test, meds etc. I am currently starting out in the process and have been in contact with a friend in Adelaide and also Perth to see if there are any companies looking for painter / decorators and willing to offer contract of employment. Any help or advice would be appreciated John