marsh942

I am offshore, here in Scotland.

I received direct grant on Saturday 18/10 from Brisbane team 33, applied 12/8 - front loaded all docs and medicals were 19/8!

Congrats on the direct grant! Must be ecstatic? Makes me worried though, I applied on August 12 too!

189 Invitation received yesterday (10/08/14), application lodged and fee paid today (11/8/14) and I've attached documents in support of my application (payslips, bank statements etc) but I've reached the 'maximum number of attachments allowed', I've mistakenly uploaded a couple of duplicates but I can't find anywhere to remove any items or change them, anyone else experienced this? cheers

Ah I see, something I didn't know! Thanks for informing me of that. I don't have a house or car to sell, only my savings to work out how to move over and I'd be ready to go if I'm lucky enough to get in.

When I created an immi account I used the my health section, filled that out and was told I would need a medical. I then booked the appointment with spire in Edinburgh and the girl there said she could see that immi were asking for the medical as well. Thanks for your reply.

I submitted my 60 point EOI a couple of weeks ago (29/7/14) so I am hoping to receive an invitation this coming Monday or two weeks after that, I have all documents ready including the police check and I have my medical booked for 15/8/14. My query is should I load all of my documents and pay for the application the day/day after I (hopefully) get my invitation or should I wait until my medical is complete and the results are ready so it's all going to immi at the one time? Thanks in advance

When you put it like that it seems obvious, I was just unsure if I would use my SVQ or my skills assessment, not really something I want to make a mistake on. Thanks for your input, appreciate it

Began my EOI today but I'm a little unsure about the 'Education History' part and what I have to type there. I am from Scotland and have an SVQ Level 3 in Carpentry and Joinery after a 4 year apprenticeship, I also have a successful skills assessment from Vic Uni in Carpentry, which states 'Assessment Document Issued - CPC30211 Certificate III in Carpentry' . In Education History I have selected 'Other qualification or award recognised by assessing authority' and have typed 'SVQ Carpentry and Joinery Level 3' into the 'Qualification Name' + 'Course Name', is this correct? Thanks in advance for any help!

The gave me locations but they said a date would be organised after passing the documentary evidence stage, a date that would suit both myself and the assessor as well as the contact at the location at this end. Ok thanks, I'll keep that in mind! Appreciate it

So this morning after worrying about it for so long I received some great news from Vic Uni - my skills assessment had been successful! Now that I have the skills assessment required and I got 8.5/8.5/8.5/8.0 for IELTS, I am now ready to submit an EOI for a skilled independent migration visa (189) as I have the 60 points required. Does anyone have any advice or anything to look out for when submitting my EOI? I'll also share my full experience with Vic Uni for those interested or in a similar position to myself. I am a 24 year old carpenter from Scotland. I qualified as a carpenter in September 2010 after a 4 year apprenticeship. After returning from a Working Holiday in Melbourne 2012/2013 staying with relatives, seeing their lifestyle and the opportunities for work in Melbourne I decided I'd like to move there. After a lot of research and gathering, the time came to submit all my documentary evidence to Vic Uni to start the skills assessment process. I submitted around 3/4 payslips (from a variety of different dates) for each employer (6) I had worked under since I qualified, I also got references from each employer and 2 supplied more detailed 'employment statements', as well as my TradeSet report and photographic work evidence w/ technical write-up. I posted all my evidence on May 21 2014 and it was received at their end on May 28 2014. On 11th June 2014 I received an email stating one of employment statements had to have more detail and I also needed a statutory declaration + letter from accountant confirming my self-employment for a period of 1 year and some alterations were needed to my photographic evidence. My advice would be to follow their guidelines completely, it was my fault that these items were missing from my package. After re-submitting my revised evidence on 19/6/14 I was informed on 2/7/14 I had been successful in the documentary evidence stage. A date (17/7/14) was arranged for my 2 hour Skype Interview for my skills assessment. I was rather nervous building up to this as I had been reading about people who had been in the trade for 15-25 years going for this assessment, I felt that my experience (or lack thereof) may hinder my ambitions. I would recommend to anyone who is going for this assessment to brush up on Australian Health and Safety as a lot of the questions he asked were related to this. Work Safe is a good website for research. The assessor was great, he understood the differences in terminology/technique etc and took this into account. The questions he asked were all from a booklet which was based on the candidate guideline you are given by Vic Uni in preparation for the assessment. I would highly recommend the service that Vic Uni provide for skills assessment, all of my emails were (generally) replied to within 24 hours and they walked me through the process step-by-step. I realise this is a bit of a passage to read but I appreciate it if you take the time to read it and have any advice regarding my EOI. Any questions regarding anything in this thread are welcome as well! Thanks, Steven

Thank you very much for the reply! That's a great help! I'll read into the 189/190 visas and their differences today! Appreciate the feedback! I (rather naively) just assumed the option with FS would be the best because I'd be applying with the most points possible

Thanks for the reply! Can I ask what CSOL is? I would have a bare 60 points without family sponsorship, 70 points with it.

Hi all, looking for some guidance please! I am a carpenter from Scotland and am looking to move to oz on a family sponsored 489 visa. It's taken me months to gather all my evidence and get it certified in order to apply for a skills Assessment to vic uni/vetassess. I've read a couple of things online that IMMI could be removing carpenter from the SOL from july 2014 and with it being a 12/13 week turnaround for a skills assessment from receipt of payment there's no way I could get my skills assessed in time to send an EOI before July 1. So should I hold off applying for the SA until the 2014 SOL is published? And is the general consensus that carpenter will be removed from The list? I'll be devastated if it is removed!

yeah, as well getting a look just now cause it'll prob take longer than you'd expect! same to you!

hi there, I'm at beginning of the process of trying to move to oz on a 489 visa with sponsorship from an aunt and uncle. I am a carpenter/joiner to trade. I've been to Melbourne on a working holiday (apologies I don't have relevant info for QLD), I didn't have any power tools with me but my uncle allowed me use of his hand tools ( he is a carpenter as well), I found work through an agency within a week working on modular homes as a 'trades assistant' (due to not having power tools with me). The starting rate was $24 an hour, working 45 hours a week. After a 3 month probationary period the wages went up to $25 but you were then given holiday pay etc then another rise after another 3 months/6 months (cant remember). I completed my IELTS English test around a month ago and now I'm just getting all my documentation certified and gathering the last of my references etc to send to either VETASSESS/Vic Uni/VisaSkills to get my trade certified (£500 to review documentary evidence and £800 for the test) which I think can be around a 12 week process all together, if not more ( this will give you more information http://www.tradesrecognitionaustralia.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx ). I'm guessing you've probably already seen it but here is a link to 'seek', the oz job recruitment site, maybe give you a better idea of what kind of work is in QLD through agencies and companies advertising http://www.seek.com.au/jobs-in-trades-services/carpentry-cabinet-making/in-qld/#dateRange=999&workType=0&industry=1225&occupation=1345&graduateSearch=false&salaryFrom=0&salaryTo=999999&salaryType=annual&advertiserID=&advertiserGroup=&keywords=&page=1&isAreaUnspecified=false&location=3103&area=&nation=&sortMode=ListedDate&searchFrom=quick&searchType= I'm not sure about the price of sending your tools over to oz but I'm sure a quick look on google with a quick guess of the weight of your tools and you'll be able to find a price pretty quickly. From just a quick look on " http://justtools.com.au/ " the price of tools after conversion is a bit cheaper over there but that would mean selling all your stuff here then tying to gather up the same stuff again which would be a hassle!

sounds like it was very straightforward for you! if you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for a migration agent to help with the visa application?

hi charl2, thanks for the feedback! I should have IELTS test results Monday coming (fingers crossed)! 3 months is a pretty good time for the visa to come back, how did you find the process? did you have all your information spot-on first time round? Rupert, thanks for the input! I can imagine the 189/190 process will be longer/more difficult than the 489 route?

what do you mean by 'better quality of visa'?

any help at all would be appreciated

I'm new to this forum and I'm looking for a few pieces of advice/information. I'm a 23 (nearly 24) carpenter and joiner from Scotland, I have an aunt and uncle who moved to Melbourne approx. 3 years ago, after a working holiday there and staying with them for a few weeks I've decided I'd like to move there. They have kindly offered to sponsor me for a 489 visa as they are now eligible. I've sat my IELTS test and am waiting on results and have been slowly but surely gathering documentary evidence/references etc to send for my Trade Recognition Test. Here's some of my questions: 1) Does anyone know if its possible to have the technical interview/practical demonstration in Scotland and if so, which Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) approved company does it (VETASSESS/VIC Uni etc) ? 2) In regards to the test would I be better sitting a test for both carpentry or joinery or stick to a single test for one or the other? 3) What sort of time-scale would I be looking at for the test and then for the visa? 4) What amount of saving would people recommend having to take over there? Thanks in advance for any help, very much appreciated!