peterc1983

Perhaps you should have watched then. And you could have heard him explain it.

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

The interview on tv tonight between Michael Parkinson and Ian Thorpe. Personality factor- zero for Thorpe. What a disappointment, thought he might have been more interesting that that. Me,me,me and (wait)- more me. Sad.

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.

There are some beautiful areas in Western Australia - Margaret River, Monkey Mia, the beaches in general, the wildflowers in spring - but for me, yes the isolation is a factor. An awful lot depends on your expectations in life. I look at those TV shows where someone buys a villa in Tuscany or a cottage on a Greek island and think, I wish I could be like that - I'd be bored in five minutes. Perth is not as extreme as a village in Murcia, but I feel I would run out of different things to do fairly quickly - and it's very expensive to travel anywhere else in Oz.

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 would never consider Perth. I also don't fancy any of the regional towns, the ones that are not outback (I quite like the idea of that for a little while anyway) but say four hours from a state capital, visited a few and they don't appeal.

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?

Apologies if this has been asked before but I can't find it on the search. Do I need to take the IELTS if I score over 60 points without it? I'm looking to get a 190 visa (NSW) as a gasfitter. I have read that some occupations require you to take the IELTS regardless of points?

 

Thanks in advance.

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

Sorry to jump in on this thread but just out of interest which of the documents that are submitted for your visa actually need to be certified? It only mentions certified copies of any certificates/diplomas etc etc.

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

Can we use a sollicitor though, because they are not mentioned in the list but a notary is?

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).

Some UK current accounts are offering 5%.. but you have to be a UK citizen. I was hoping to find one where you didn't have to be. We do plan to spread our savings too, but didn't want the current account not to earn anything.. Thanks

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.

you'll be lucky to get barely any interest with the rates at 0.5%.

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.

Thanks - He is going to look at others but he is over the age limit for many visas now (he is 43 years old)

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

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

What's with all the agent slander?

 

1) Like any payment system there can be technical errors, multiple payments taken or payments declined regardless of who lodges it. The most common issue is banks declining very large international payments.

 

2) Where is it clear that an agent is at fault for this, or is responsible for lodging it at the last minute, or has done anything wrong or stupid?

 

Too many people on here quick to jump to conclusions and tar a whole industry of professionals that have helped thousands of people achieve their dream.

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.

Hi all,

 

I have lodged an EOI this week and since some members of this forum are really

good at helping ppl out i thought i might ask this question.

 

what are the chances of being invited to apply for 189 visa, my occupation is 261311

the application was lodged this week with 60 points?

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).

With respect to the names of courses/employers: I don't think they'll be an issue so long as the points you've claimed in the EOI tally up to be the same as what you put in the visa app. Over-claiming, so far as I can tell, will get your app rejected.

Relating to the citizenship; it sounds as though, at the time, what you put was correct. This is perhaps something they'll query but since you can demonstrate the reason of the discrepancy (i.e.: change in circumstances), might be ok.

oh...the wonders of google... :smile:

 

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/23855072996990070/

I don't use Pinterest, but thank you.