louisella

Hi anon123, I'm going to call the visa helpline later so will ask about the possibility of claiming the extra points - I'll post back on here if I get a clear answer. I suspect they'll say you can only claim for one set under the qualification section but always worth asking Re the flagged list - both solicitor and barrister are on the list (https://www.anzscosearch.com/list-flagged-occupations/) however hopefully it doesn't necessarily mean they'll be taken off this July, it just surprised me that they were flagged at all. The link I've posted in the above post makes for interesting reading. Like you say, it'd be pretty galling if you've spent the money for the extra units and it does get removed.

Hope you enjoyed GTA V, that response did make me laugh :laugh: Thought this was an interesting read - https://www.lawcouncil.asn.au/lawcouncil/images/LCA-PDF/docs-2900-2999/2910-Skilled-Occupations-ListSOL2015-16.pdf .

Hi both Thanks for your replies - on DIBP is states: Invited Pathway - Your visa is valid for four years from the date of grant. [h=4]So if the visa was say granted on 1st Jan, 2017, the very latest date we could arrivee in Australia would be 1st Jan 2019 in order to meet the 2 year criteria for PR progression – is that right? [/h]Points wise, my husband has the following: Age - 15 IELTS - confident he'll be able to get 20 Skilled employment - can't claim any under this section as he's only been a qualified solicitor for a year Qualifications - 15 (from a UK degree) Family sponsorship - 10 Other (very slim!) possibility for points He’ll need to take additional units stipulated by the relevant Law Board (likely to be WA) in order to be admitted to practice in Australia – once he’s done these, I don’t know whether he could claim additional Qualification points under this (although I doubt it): An award or qualification recognised by the assessing authority in the assessment of the skilled occupation - 10 points

HI – could someone please help with some queries regarding the 489 family sponsored visa I’m worried as I’ve read that solicitors are on the flagged list for possible removal so if we don’t apply soon (well once my husband has a positive skills assessment) we could to lose the opportunity. However at it stands, points wise, the above visa looks to be our only option (not ideal at all I know). I’m just trying to get an idea of timescales as we’re not in a position to move for a couple of years yet. 1. If we submitted an EOI before the new SOL is published in July and solicitor is removed, does that mean we’re automatically excluded or would they still consider applications submitted before? 2. Does anyone know how long family sponsored applications take (if it makes a difference it would be for WA)? I know there is a lengthy wait but that’s ok for us 3. If, for example, the visa was granted on 1st Jan 2017, does that mean we can live and work in Australia for 4 years from that date? So if we only moved over on say 1st Jan 2018, we’d only be able to stay for 3 years? I know with permanent visas you can validate your visa first (I think within the first 12 months?) but then you have 5 years in which to make the actual move. Am I right in thinking none of this applies for the 489 family sponsored?

Sorry - just jumping into this thread. Does anyone happen to know whether, once you have taken the addtional units (on the assumption you need to) and passed, can you then claim 10 points for the following? If so, can this be in addition to claiming points for a degree? (I'm not sure whether you can only claim for one category under the Qualifications section) An award or qualification recognised by the assessing authority in the assessment of the skilled occupation I've also read that solicitors are on the flagged list for potential removal from SOL in the future which is worrying...

It's not been massively cold here but it's been very tempremental - really sunny one minute then raining the next. The garden's had a very good watering over the last couple of days

Do you know anyone in the UK who collects Tesco Clubcard points as they can be a good way of getting into attractions at a discounted rate? As already mentioned, train companies often offer two for one tickets (we used ours for one of us to free entry into Hampton Court - we just had to show a train ticket with that day's date on). The Oyster card (for travelling round London) used to do two for one offers as well - may be worth checking to see if they still do.

Hi @VERYSTORMY , thanks very much for your reply. I've been advised the modules will be between 10-15k (ouch!) Re the 489, I thought that if you were family sponsored (rather than state / Territory) on this visa, then you could work in Perth from the off? This is what I read on Immi: If you are sponsored by an eligible relative, you are to live, work and study in one of the following: [TABLE=width: 1, align: center] [TR] [TD]Western Australia [/TD] [TD]Entire state [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Have I missed something about the 12 month stipulation which you mentioned? Thanks

Personally I'd say stay for your citizenship just to keep your options open for the future. Like others have said, could you travel around a bit? I'm not if you've only stayed in Sydney during your time there, if so there's a whole lot of country to explore which is very different to Sydney. Kind of like someone coming to London and thinking that's what the whole of the UK is like. Perhaps planning some smaller goals will help with your mindset - I think having that 12 month date in your head won't help as it will make it seem like a long time away - perhaps plan a new experience (even if it's just something small and cheap) for each month and just work month by month. Good luck

Wow that is fast but hey why not - best of luck with the move and enjoy your downtime in Bali!

Hi - you should be fine taking chocolate in. I took quite a lot of dairy milk chocolate when I went over last year - I wasn't sure either whether it would somehow be classed under dairy so declared it on the card and mentioned it when I went through customs. They weren't bothered about it all (other than wanting some for themselves :cute:) Good luck with your move!

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Hi all, sorry this is so long! I’m trying to get my head round dates / timelines and could do with a fresh pair of eyes please OH qualified as a solicitor in the UK in September 2014 and we’d be looking to apply for a visa with him as the primary applicant. Points wise, I’ve calculated we can only go for the 190 or 489 as follows: 190 Age – 15 IELTS – confident he’d get 20 Skilled Employment - 5 points in Sept 2017 Qualifications – 15 State Sponsorship – 5 = 60 Or 489 under family sponsored through my sister who’s eligible to sponsor us Age – 15 IELTS – 20 (Skilled Employment – 5 points in Sept 2017) Qualifications – 15 Family Sponsorship – 10 = 60 if we apply before Sept 2017 or 65 if we apply after So the way I see it, the quickest in terms of when we can apply (rather than how quickly they’re granted) would be the 489 family sponsor however I know these are very rare. From what I’ve read, OH would need to have his skills assessed by the WA Legal board (we’d be looking to move to Perth) and that in order to get a positive skills assessment, he’d need to complete additional units and be admitted to practice. If I estimate this to be 5-6 units (hopefully worse case scenario), I’ve read that you can only study 3 subjects per semester, so this would need to be spread over 2 semesters. So my questions (eventually!) are - How long is a semester in Australia? I’m not sure if it’s similar to a term in the UK? Also, what months do the semesters tend to start? Do you know of anyone who has received a positive skills assessment from WA without having been admitted first? (this could just be wishful thinking on my part I know!) If say for example, in 12 months time, OH had completed the units and was admitted to practice (and subsequently received the positive skills assessment), am I correct in thinking we could then apply for the 489 and just wait it out? The other option is to wait until Sept 2017 when he can claim 5 points for skilled employment so go for 190? If we lodged a 489 next year but didn’t hear anything, could we then change it to a 190 the following year when OH would have enough points? All of this of course is assuming solicitor stays on the SOL (and I am just using the 12 months completion as an example to get an idea of timescales / process flow in my head) If you've managed to stay awake this far...many thanks!

What a great post to read! Best of luck to you and your family with your move, a new adventure lies ahead

I may be sllghtly biased :cute: but I'd say go for Devon - Somerset, Dorset and Cornwall are on the doorstep so you can easily travel to any of them from here

I really loved it - I've been to Perth three times and never made it over until our last trip but I really wish I'd gone sooner. If you want to save money, you can do it in a day although it would be lovely seeing sunset / sunrise there. I can't remember how much our ferry was now - I think it was about $180 for both of us as a day trip from Hillary's. I was a bit worried about the crossing as not great on boats but I took tablets before each trip and was absolutely fine - it was a bit surreal though as for some reason they were showing a Mr Bean DVD on the ferry :laugh:

They do have a couple in Caversham Wildlife Park in Perth but it's not the same as seeing them roaming around in their own environment

this little one tried to climb my leg when we were there the other week, she had her baby with her which was the ultimate in cuteness :cute: We went as a day trip and loved it - took the early ferry from Hilary's and spent the day there. We couldn't get the bikes as OH's back was playing up but there's a bus which goes round the whole island which was good. Amazing beaches and the colour of the water was so beautiful, would definitely recommend it

What a lovely post sis - glad to hear you're settling in well and the photos are so lovely :cute: I love Perth - think it's a lovely city and the surrounding areas are so nice xx

many congratulations @blossom79 , she's beautiful (lovely name as well). Hope you're settling in well with her at home x

It's amazing to see that near £900k has been raised so far on the Manchester Evening News site alone. People are also donating through the Just Giving page for the dogs home itself. It won't do anything to help those poor mites that didn't survive last night but it does go some way to restoring faith in people

I felt so upset when I heard about this - those poor, poor dogs. Even the ones that have survived must be so traumatised. I really admire the workers and volunteers as I can't imagine how they must be feeling - they were interviewing the centre manager this morning and she was close to tears every time they spoke to her. As for the 'kid' who did this, what an absolute scumbag (and that's putting it mildly). The donations are shooting up which is good to see (bit annoyed with myself as I didn't see the option to gift aid when I donated - I must've missed it as I can see others were able to) RIP to those poor dogs who didn't make it xx

I've flown to Oz twice on Emirates (and family have used them several times) and I've never had any problems with them. I've found the staff to be polite etc but to be honest once I'm on board I tend to switch off from what's going on around so have never really noticed whether they offer drinks outside of dinner service etc. I'm flying with Singapore this time round (in November) so will be interesting to see the comparison.