rob56

Great glad to hear it helped!

I just asked to be considered for a virtual ceremony as I didn't want to attend a face to face one during covid. I got some standard automated response back so not sure if it made a difference. Waverley council aren't offering face to face ceremonies yet and some other Sydney councils are so this could have made it quicker.

Hi It came from "virtual.ceremony.nsw@homeaffairs.gov.au". I also emailed this address asking for a virtual ceremony after my application was approved. Not sure if that made a difference on the timeline though.

Thanks! Yes they send it to you within 3 weeks

I accepted the meeting invite but didn't have to follow a link to a website to accept etc.

The remote ceremony was done via Webex. They send you a link. Ceremony took less than 5 minutes

I received my citizenship today! Below is my timeline: City: Sydney (Waverley Council) Citizenship Application Submitted : 23/03/2020 Test Invitation : 20/12/2020 Test Date: 15/01/2021 Citizenship Approved: 01/02/2021 Ceremony Invite: 10/02/2021 Ceremony Date: 16/02/2021 (Virtual)

I found the online test to be almost identical to the real life test. Although I did score better in the real test compared to the practice one it still marked me the same bracket from a visa points basis (Whether I had superior English or not)...

Great thanks CaptainC! I posted in the thread before realising it was yours so don't worry about replying to that one!!!! :-)

Hi CaptainC, Mine is: 1) 261313 2) Software Engineer 3) 65 4) 11/11/2015 Thanks!

Hi I have just submitted an EOI (subclass 189) as a Software Engineer with 65 points. I was just wondering how long it will take to receive an invitation with these points as I saw the pass mark increased to 65 points in the last October draw?

I'd do PTE if I were you. I did a few hours of preparation. You have to pay for the sample tests but they are 100% the same as the actual test. I got the results from my actual test within 24 hours as well! Much better than the 2 weeks for IELTS. Looking at my results I had a really low score for spelling meaning I made loads of mistakes but the scoring system still gave me full marks in each module as I guess they weight it against other factors...

Hi I'm British and English is my first language. I took IELTS last year and didn't do great. Got 9 in the speaking and reading but only got 7.5 in the writing and 8.5 in the listening. I took PTE yesterday to get a better score. Although it is more difficult the scoring system seems to be much better. Got 90 in all four modules first time. I would recommend doing this test over IELTS as IELTS doesn't seem to give a true reflection of your ability to speak English!! Cheers Rob