Serendipity

Hi. We used Migrate me, and got our 189 visas March 2015. I also had some missing payslips and a P60. I asked my caseworker at migrate me what to do and she said not to worry too much at that stage. So I didn't, and was never asked for them. It wasn't a problem, but I'd just tell them what you're missing and take their advice.

Hey there. We validated in Feb this year. Our trip went something like this: Taxi got stuck in serious traffic on way to airport, daughter got car sick in taxi and threw up - I grabbed her coat (nearest thing to hand) and she was very very sick into it. Taxi driver gave us a carrier bag so all got shoved into that! So, arrived at Manchester Airport with NINE yes 9 minutes till check in desk closed!!And a six year old covered in sick. For some reason our visa's weren't apparent on the UK system when we check in, so a supervisor was called over and had to call Australian Immigration to check this, whilst I opened suitcases and changed sicky six year old at the check in desk!! With two minutes to spare till desk closed, our luggage went through (sicky coat was shoved into hand luggage - YUCK!!). Once we arrived in Sydney it was a breeze. Polite and straightforward and the guy at passport control confirmed that we had validated the visa's. We look back and laugh now but don't want to repeat that journey to Manchester airport again!! I even went through 'something to declare' channel as I was paranoid about the dogs sniffing around the sicky bag!! Best regards, enjoy your experiences xxxx

Hi, we used Migrate Me. They did exactly what they said they would do and got us (family of four) our PR visas. They advised me at each stage what to do: skills assessment, IELTS, police checks, medicals etc They asked for documents as required and even when I had stuff missing (P60's or P45's from a few years ago as I was self employed), our caseworker Erin just re-assured me not to worry at that stage. And it was not a problem. They kept in touch and responded to emails quickly. The process was smooth and I felt they were cheaper than other companies we'd had quotes from - and the outcome was that we were granted our 189's in March 2015. I did the first bit (IELTS and skills assessment) myself and forewarded the paperwork to Erin, then I think our EOI was submitted Oct/ nov 2014, visa application submitted mid December 2014 and grant March 31 2015. Good luck with your application. I can say that having them deal with all the admin/ paperwork was a massive help to me (busy working mum) and my time was better spent not stressing!

Wow, thanks so much for all these replies. We've been away for the weekend and had a really good chat about things. I'm going though all the replies now and making notes so we can look into everything that's been mentioned in more detail. I take on board all the possible problems that have been highlighted, and all the costs I hadn't thought about. We MAY be able to get a postal address which would make certain things a bit easier. However I can see that it may be a huge benefit to have a rental property and will start looking at that. Whilst we loved Newcastle, we can't be sure my husband will get work near enough to actually live there. He's in marketing so needing to be near major cities. He's been in discussions with a company based quite near Newcastle, but we can't pin our hopes on it. That's one of the issues, that we don't know where we may end up permanently. I think we've decided that IF we go for it, we'd buy a car and caravan rather than a campervan - just in terms of being practical. So, loads to look into with all the comments above. We know its a plan with many flaws at the moment, and needs some serious tweeking. But thank you all again.

Not really sure which forum this fits in, but here it is: We're now in the frustrating and anxious, but exiting and privileged position of being ready to make the move to Australia this year! Except we have a large and expensive house that just isn't selling and we don't have jobs yet!! But nothing is insurmountable as far as I'm concerned! We're going with open minds in every respect at the moment, and just feel lucky to be able to take this opportunity in our lives. In a quick summary. We (me and husband both mid 40's and two children aged 6 and 8), had PR visa's granted March 2015 WHILST we were in Oz on a three week trip. (We'd expected it to be granted before we went, therefore we'd validate when we went on our trip, however due to me being self employed, had to provide extra documents and the process took longer then expected!!). Anyway, we did a visa validation trip in Feb this year - had a great week in Newcastle NSW and would love to live there and are working toward that. Husband is the main earner and where we go will be dependent on where he gets work. He has a few things in the pipeline which could be either a job offer in the next few months or, come to nothing. I'm an Occupational Therapist and will start to look for work when we have settled somewhere (its a tricky process for OT's to get registered but I'll cross that bridge at a later date- I'm not desperate to work as an OT and am looking for a career change but that's another story). Kids are great travellers and well up for the adventure of emigrating. They even love the long flight! I'm in a temporary locum job at the moment and husband took voluntary redundancy a few months ago, as a bit of a shove in the right direction (a risk, but one we needed to take we felt at the time). I've had a massive de-clutter and am mentally packing all the time. It seems we are just waiting....for SOMETHING to happen! We have just sold a rental property we had, so in a few weeks will have a lump sum of cash. We had hoped to sell our own house but its very slow, and a difficult house to sell and in actual fact we love it so much, if we come back we would want to live in it. So renting it out is an option. We know it would rent out easily. I'm pretty fed up with waiting and feeling we're in limbo. IF our house sold we could go, or IF husband got a job, we could rent out our house and go. We've pretty much been saying whichever happened first would dictate what happened next. Then yesterday I had a 'brainwave'! We know that being in Australia makes it MUCH easier to get contacts for work in my husbands line of business. If we set a date to go, possibly October time, we can buy a used campervan/ caravan when we arrive and spend a few months travelling and exploring. Husband would be in the country to go for interviews and I could home school the kids. I have a few friends who do this, whilst I wouldn't want them home schooled for more that a few months, it could work for us. We'd hope that by Christmas my husband would have found work and we could rent a house, start school etc Am I mad? Has anyone done anything similar. I'm just itching to go and start our Australian adventure. As I said, we're going with open minds, we don't imagine the grass is greener just a different colour green, and it may not be forever, but at the moment we're going for the life experience. We'd probably aim to start somewhere up north and travel down toward Sydney. My husband would have to fly if he had interviews. I'd happily sit for the required hours each days to home-school my darling children, patiently! (said tongue in cheek). I know we'll have to look into everything carefully but would appreciate any thoughts/ comments. Thank you.

Hi, oops I meant short term ones not temporary. So I can see lots of people looking for holiday swaps rather than longer term swops. I suppose even a few months would be beneficial if we could make it work. I have a friend who did it (quite a few years ago, UK to Sydney) and said it was surprisingly straight forward. She was a single person and we are a family of four so needs a bit more planning.

Hi there, we're also looking into doing a house swap when we move from Yorkshire later in the year to..........(not sure yet!!). Any opinions or advice would be appreciated. We've had our house on the market once already last year with hardly any interest so looking up other avenues at the moment! We'd hope to do 6 months I think and heading for either Melbourne or North of Sydney.

Hi there, we really appreciate your opinion on the following 2 cars: First is a BMW 520d 2010 (E61), M-sport Touring estate 2L diesel Automatic Rear wheel drive 89,000 miles Has air-con UK private sale value about £10,000 Unable to find exact model in Oz but about $35,000 Second is a Mazda 5 (MPV) 2L sport, diesel 2009 Manual Front wheel drive Has aircon approx. £5- 5,500 in UK Unable to find anything similar in Australia. We are unsure which state we are heading for yet, depends on jobs, but possible Victoria. many thanks Iron Chef!

OK thank you. Can we treat the items ourselves in the UK? Or would it need to be done when it reaches Australia? If so is it expensive? Any advice is appreciated.

Hi, we are starting to plan what to take with us to Australia. We have very little of value but a lot of things of sentimental value from our travels around the world. My son has a native American indian headdress with feathers and I have lots of African wood carvings from places like South Africa, Cameroon, Gabon. There are probably some other bits and pieces. Would this stuff just be confiscated if we try to ship it over? We have had it for years- just wondered if we need to start ebaying these things!! Thanks.

Hi. I have a really broad clinical background. I've always done physical OT and did my first 5 years in hospitals (orthopaedics, medicine, stroke rehab, Rheumatology etc). I then got REALLY BORED and did an MSc in Ergonomics and that opened a lot of doors into private work, to do workplace assessments, seating assessments, DSE assessments etc. I've worked in social services for most of the last 13- 14 years so am very experienced in major adaptations and specialist equipment for children and adults. I've also done private work in the last 3 years in vocational rehab and occupational health, and that required me funding courses and buying kit for my assessments (which cost over £3K in total) but now means I can work privately and that is the best option for me for a good work life balance. Community/ Social service work is much more flexible when you have a family. Hospital work is very regimented and rigid in terms of start times, flexibility etc Last year when I started to apply for my 189 visa, I decided I needed to update my experience in hospitals (to increase my options of work when we go to OZ and update my NHS experience). So I applied for a temporary job in a local hospital as a specialist stroke OT (not thinking for one minute I would get the job!!). I got the job!! and have been working back in a hospital since last November and I can categorically say this is the last time I work in a hospital!!! LOL- if I could put the clock back I would have a word with myself when I applied!!! Private work is the way to go for me. I have a 5 and a 7 year old and if I am working for 3 or 4 main companies I can usually get enough work to keep me going. I can do reports in the evening or weekend to suit my schedule. I can choose whether I work full or part time, and whether I work over school holidays. I can get up at 3am to do a report if I need to!! The down side is I have no holiday pay as a private OT. So if I take the summer off with my kids, I get NO MONEY. Versus being employed where you get paid holidays, sickness etc. As I said in my earlier post, work rehab is the area that you need to focus on. In this country there are massive moves to get people back to work who are on sickness benefits and OTs have a prominent role in this. Feel free to PM me if you want any additional info. Becky xx So, its swings and roundabouts. You can make it work for you

Hi there. Have you looked at a two year accelerated OT course? You need a degree to qualify, and I'm not entirely sure that law would be relevant enough , but its worth looking into! Look at the link below. http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/explore-by-career/allied-health-professions/careers-in-the-allied-health-professions/occupational-therapist/entry-and-training/ I don't think its impossible getting a job in Oz for overseas trained OT's, but you just need to find an employer prepared to help you jump through the supervision hoops to get fully registered in Oz. I've emailed a few OT's from this site who have successfully got jobs in the last few months. I've been an OT for 20 years and am currently waiting for PR visa grant. No ides if I will get a job but am going to give it a good go! The thing with OT is that there are so many different clinical areas to work in, and if you choose the right one, where the demand is, you'll increase your chances. Vocational/ workplace Rehab is a big one at the moment (in Oz and getting bigger in this country). So if you plan your career accordingly, you can increase your chances. Have a look at seek.com and search for rehab consultant rather than OT, to see what type of work background you may need to work in that setting. Good luck with it! Becky

Hi, yes I got that email when we did ours a few weeks ago. The actual certificates arrived by post exactly 2 weeks from the date the email said they'd received the application. So if that follows in your case they should plop onto your doormat about next Wednesday!

Re IELTS- I had to do it for points for the 189 visa and as far as I can see most would. It doesn't matter if you are a native speaker. I had to get 8's on all 4 sections. I know for some people this is an issue. If you are a native English speaker then its certainly easier for you, and with some preparation you would be fine. We are not sure yet where we are going to move to. We are going on holiday on 18th March with our 2 kids, to do a bit of sussing out. Going to visit Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. After that we will start planning for the bigger move next year. I've done quite a bit of work based assessment, ergonomics and vocational stuff as an OT so am hoping to get into that market in Oz. Let us know how you get on with stuff!

Hi there. Its my understanding that you would be classed as skilled if you have enough points with only one years experience. If the OT Council are satisfied with your documents (references, transcripts, degree certificates, CV etc) then you can be classed as suitable for skilled migration. The job situation is a separate issue and for many OT's it is proving difficult to get work as an OT. I know that it is possible to get a job- another PIO OT who I have been communicating with has just gone out to Sydney and got a job- she said with every application she contacted the person dealing with the vacancy, by email, and explained what is involved with the supervised 6 months practice and that she would lead it etc etc That's about all I can tell you really. So its not impossible but it may be frustratingly slow. We are hoping to get our 189 in the next month or so (lodged December 2014). Where are you based and where do you work? Do you need to do IELTS exam as well? Best wishes, Becks.

Hi, we have lodged our 189 application in December. I have sent off for police checks and am wondering when we should get our medicals done. We are using an agent and when I asked if we can go ahead and get the medicals done they replied: ''this is usually done upon request as all applicants are provided with the reference number called the HAP ID which then enables the medical check results to be sent of the immigration department directly. Therefore it is best at this stage that we await for the request to come through first''. When I look at others timelines, a lot of people seem to have had there's done even before the application was made. I'm keen to get everything through as we are going on holiday to Oz in March and if the visa is through by then it will validate it for us. Can anyone advise. thank you.

Hi, I did my IELTS a few months ago. I paid to attend a two hour course prior to the exam which was aimed at native English speakers who needed to get an 8+ for emigration purposes. It was run at a local language school, by an IELTS examiner and I think I was sent info on it after I'd booked for the exam. I think it was about £60. it was very useful for the writing and I came away with some useful practice material. One of the most useful sheets I was given was what is basically a colour coded 'plan' for writing an essay. I familiarised myself with this plan and was able to use it to construct an essay on any subject I was given- I was lucky with the subject matter in the actual exam and rattled off an essay easily using my plan and got a 9. I am happy to colour scan this sheet tomorrow in work and email if to you if you pm me with your email address. I do recall I wrote a lot out first onto a spare sheet (or possibly even onto the question sheet) before I transferred it onto the answer sheet, but I write very fast. For the reading and writing I practiced practiced practiced and was aware that the questions do try to catch you out so I looked out for this. If husband needs to get 8+ then I would recommend one of these courses, you may find out more info by contacting the centre where'll he'll sit the exam. There is loads of stuff online, definitely look at some of the videos for the speaking bit.

Thank you! That's exactly what I needed to know, I will make sure our migration company are aware that they need to do this.

Hi. I'm a bit concerned about the timings of our planned 3 week family holiday to Oz, booked for March 19th, because we currently have an application in for a 189. I don't know if my concerns are justified as I've been told a few different things! Our visa application was lodged 8th December by our migration company. If by the time we fly (March 19th) we have our 189 visa granted then I understand we will be validating the visa when we go to Oz and then return to the UK. BUT, if when we leave we do not have the 189 visa, and go on a holiday visa, what happens if the visa is granted whilst we are in Oz? Hope this question makes sense. I just need to know if there is potentially a problem here and what can I do about it. I did try to explain my concerns to our migration agent but they didn't seem to think there was an issue. Many thanks.

I'm going to give them a call tomorrow. As I said I've had reservations for a few months but need to spend some time tomorrow looking into things. olly8 I will keep you posted. I'm going for a 189 visa so I don't know what the differences between the 189 and 190 are in terms of process. If I get a bad feeling tomorrow I am prepared to ditch them (MM) and go it alone. I have my skills assessment letter and IELTS results letter so all I'd lose is the £1400 I've paid to Migrate me!!! I hope it doesn't turn out like that though. Thanks loads.

Hi thanks a lot for the replies. Last night I rattled off a curt email to my case worker at 'Migrate Me', requesting a copy of the EOI submission (as suggested by itegoa above, and the name of a manager or supervisor to speak to if I needed to (no I was not happy last night!!). Lo and behold this morning I get an email saying: 'I have made some enquires after reading through your email and I can confirm that I have received your invitation to apply this morning. We can now submit your visa application'. It seems a bit of a coincidence and I have lost confidence in Migrate Me- this particular case worker didn't submit all the info for my skills assessment back in July and I was asked for additional proof of schools etc, she also failed to ask me to fill in the payment details to submit with my skills assessment paperwork, and this delayed things another few weeks as they had to contact me direct to ask for proof of payment. Maybe I'm overreacting but I could have done a better job myself it feels!! Anyway I'm going to phone Migrate Me tomorrow and try to sort things out and hopefully progress the application. Thanks for your help.

Sorry I should have said all that. It's a 189, I'm an occupational therapist and claiming 60 points.

Hi we are using a migration company (Migrate Me). Our advisor confirmed that she made our EOI on 22nd October, but still not had an invite. This seems a long time when I look at other peoples timelines!! Should I be asking questions? I've left it all with them to sort out but can I check things myself as well? Thanks.

Thanks for that. At what stage do you submit all this other info- bank statements, salary slips etc? Is it with the actual visa application. I am only at the Expression of interest stage at the moment. I was just a bit confused as the woman from the embassy who was at the expo told me that it is the people who assess your skills that state the number of years experience. Anyway, as I said I've got a straight 5 and a half years from 2005 to 2011 in the same employed job, and I'm only going to claim 5 years experience in the last 10 to make things easier as my work history is quite bitty over the past 4 years as I've been juggling two small children. Thanks, and if anyone else has any advice I'd appreciate it.

Hi I've had my skills assessment done by the Occupational Therapy Council and the outcome was positive. I have the letter stating that I am suitable for skilled migration. However the letter does not state how many years I can claim and I'm wondering how I go about proving this. I've worked as an OT for over 19 years now but in the last 10 years have been part time and/ or self employed for the last few years. I have had a full time permanent job for 5 and a half years between 2005 and 2011 and so am going to claim a safe 5 years experience for the purpose of my visa. My question is how do I prove this? I recently spoke to someone from immigration at an expo we went to, and she said the skills assessment letter normally states how many years experience. But mine doesn't! Any suggestions? Thanks