peterc1983

It sounds as though you're talking about doing something, anything, just to get in. Surely you'd be better served doing something you actually want/like to do. There are plenty of things on the SOL to pick from if that's what you're essentially doing.

Yes my mother recently visited my sis (who lives in Perth) earlier this year and she commented on her perceived lack of culture. I'm ok with that, though. I understand it's a migrant country and I'm not expecting a warm version of Glasgow or Edin. It'll be interesting

I don't care either way what his reasons were .. I just disagree with the media response to the story.

I didn't watch it, and don't particularly intend to. And you're right; many people have to deal with this exact same scenario on their own with far less privileged surroundings - and they certainly don't ask for a televised interview afterwards. I think the only interesting aspect to this is the sporting angle -- whereby either by culture or surroundings, he felt the need to lie for so long when asked about girlfriends etc. I'm not sure if this is because he knew/felt he would get a hard time of it at 'work' or whether he had a family/friends issue to overcome. So really, I think the 'story' (if that's what we can call it) is not about him at all: but about the sport and mind-set of those that work in that area.

A Grecian cottage I'd probably be ok with -- there is so much archeology and history in Greece I'd find something to do. Though, as we're all agreeing here, it depends very much on location and accessibility (probably cash, too :smile:) I'm thinking my love of city life in Glasgow will make for a familiar crossover into Perth. With so much more outdoor potential thanks to the climate, I'm expecting I'll enjoy it more on those occasions where I want to trek out to quieter spots.

I'm curious as to why you would never consider Perth - Is it the isolation?

I've been curious about how this works -- a friend of mine is also looking into HR in Perth. So to get state sponsorship, you need a contract of employment. But to get a contract of employment, you need to be on the ground in Oz. .. but to be on the ground with a job in hand... surely you then don't need the visa?! I can't see how this works. Why would an employer give you a contract if you were not yet eligible to work?

Provided you have a UK passport and your occupation (well, skills assessors) don't need you to have a certain score... no.

I certified my degree, diploma, passport, employment references and educational transcripts.

Certain solicitors are also notaries public. For example, here in Scotland a solicitor must petition the Court of Session to apply to register as a Notary Public. It's therefore important to check with them when you inquire. Saying that, I'd expect it to be explicitly stated on their website if they are. PS - You can contact your local court but I found waiting times to be in excess of 6 weeks (as it is free).

Yes, I'd say it's possible. But, as far as I know, the SOL/CSOL etc are only updated once a year, on 1st July. Therefore if it's not on a state list now, it may not be for another 12 months. Could be wrong though, I'm 189. But I was reading about Perth state sponsorship for a friend.

Some skills assessors, AFAIK, also require a certain IELTS score. The ACS, for example, do not. But I *think* accountants do?

No you cannot. The sentence says: The following employment after October 2013 is considered to equate to work at an appropriately skilled level and relevant to 261313 (Software Engineer) of the ANZSCO Code. Note the 'after October 2013' part: your experience you can claim would then run from Nov. 2013 to Mar 2014 -- not even a years worth. Which, from everything I have read and understood, means that if you do not follow the ACS' assessment of your experience you risk over-claiming points. Over-claiming will result in your visa being rejected and fees are not refunded. But, I'm happy to be corrected if I've misinterpreted. EDIT: I should add this is precisely how I set out my EOI. But I had more points than a I needed, so the work experience (5 pts) I didn't need to worry about.

I would say of all the tests to pay special attention to, the reading is probably it. My opinion, of course, but I lost marks my first time round and failed to achieve my 20 points, so re-sat to improve my reading score (and did). I paid £40 for the official cambridge IELTS study book. I think it was worth it for the tips and mock exams.

Did the ACS recognise the diploma? They did one of mines (and I wasn't even going to add it, as I have an honors degree too). So they may accept the diploma as having equivalence to an IT course. If you have no other IT-related qualifications then it's all down to work experience and whichever dates they set as being the date you can use to count your experience from. As you may only have the diploma, I would presume they would knock off a number of years of the experience. I could only claim 3 yrs in the end, despite 6 years commercial experience. You may be able to claim 10 years since you have 15 all-in. All depends on what dates they'd recognise your work experience from.

I sat my test twice to get the score I wanted, so a second attempt isn't so bad at all. Make sure you have a book or a study guide to get you on track for the way in which to answer the questions (depending on what areas of the test you didn't do so well in).

The Nationwide accounts (I think) you're referring to have a maximum balance of ~£2500 on the interest generating feature. But I agree .. something is better than nothing, and if you're splitting the savings this cap might not be so bad.

As Londongal76 say. Interest rates are so so low, that unless it's a specialist deposit account - or a massive amount of cash - it's almost not even worthwhile. If you opened a fixed term deposit, or if you can, utilise the new NISA? That might be better. Not sure about your circumstances though. I suppose something is better than nothing, in the end.

I'm a software developer, so perhaps it's very different for me, but I would try and list more tech that you use. If that's appropriate. I'm not sure Excel and/or Visio would blow me away On the other hand; you're not trying to impress the ACS -- just show that what you do day-to-day is in fact what a Systems Analyst does (in their opinion).

On the jobs front; all indications I've had (I work as developer in IT), are that it will be easier for me to get a job once on the ground in Oz.

The 189 skilled visa, at least, is age barred at 50.

Could he not apply via the regular 189 visa or such?

My point with respect to this was that I am not comfortable to relinquish control of my application to someone else who's capability and attention to detail I can't confirm; I've read just as many positive comments about agents and I'm sure for some people they are great. Each to their own. I believe the point being made here about the agents' fault was that the app was left later than it should have been -- given, as you say, that there is an understanding that payments can fail etc. It's now leaving the applicant with very little time to correct the problem. But anyway, I don't want to hijack someone else's thread with agent pros and cons...

These are exactly the kinds of stories, having read others like it, that made my consideration of getting an agent last all of 2 seconds. If the bank say the money has left the account, and the agent did use the IMMI site, I guess it must mean the payment has been made -- regardless of what the website has recorded. The bank should be able to verify the details of the recipient as Australian immigration -- my credit card statement had updated within 3 days to show the statement entry confirming the visa charge to them. Does sound as though you have to contact them directly though to see what's happening with the visa app. Can you not login to the IMMI site yourself? There is a "Manage Payments" button at the top of the page that will show the payments made.

My occupation is Developer Programmer, so the same bracket of codes as yours. I got my invite within 1 day of EOI submission. I have 70 points though (resat IELTS to get 20).