lhumphreys

However, if you come from an English speaking country that is recognized by Australia (USA, Ireland, Canada, UK, etc) you do not have to do the English exam for your skills assessment and only have to do it in order to get points for the visa. For the visa you can take the general format of the English exam just to gain points and have a much higher chance of getting invited faster if you score the maximum amount of points. In order to verify this your nursing education will have needed to be completed in English. Even if you only speak English- the academic version of the exams are very hard. During the TOEFL people were crying, which was a bit distracting. Try to take the general version if at all possible. The IELTS general was very easy compared to the TOEFL academic.

Hi @LauraHol89, I did front load everything including medicals, police checks, form 1221, and form 80. Any form that I could find that somebody mentioned them needing I just submitted in case. In addition, someone mentioned they were asked for an Australian Police check even though they had only ever visited Australia once for 3 weeks. Considering I've visited 7 times for 2-4 weeks at a time, I decided to go ahead and do this too just to be safe. Hope this helps!

Hi Guys, I just wanted to give a bit of hope to those out there waiting. I received my grant yesterday without any CO contact. I was devastated by the 8-11 month processing time (which was 9-12 when I submitted) in February. In addition, I looked at my immiaccount all of the time, and it never ever updated from received (I was waiting for it to say initial assessment, etc), but since it had never changed I thought I would be waiting the full time period. However, on Monday night it said received and by Tuesday afternoon I had a grant letter in my email. Hope the theory that things pick up in July due to the new fiscal year is true for all of us. If there are any other nurses out there who will be relocating to the Melbourne area, please reach out to me! I'd love to make some new friends who also went through this crazy process.

Supposedly things pick up in July because their fiscal year ends at the end of June. So, I'm probably stating this completely inaccurately, but they were processing like 1000 a month prior to last Septemberish and inviting way more people too, but because they do their visas in 2 year blocks (and the current one ends in June) they were at a point where they had hit their visa goal so they slowed down processing, and it should pick up again at the start of the new fiscal year/new visa pattern. Hope this helps!

Hi Guys! I just thought we should start a new thread for the next group of us out there anxiously awaiting visas. It's so exciting to see that they have finally moved into December applications with many people receiving direct grants! Please introduce yourself with your occupation and your lodgement date so we can all follow each other's outcomes! I'm Lindsey and I applied as a perioperative registered nurse on February 21st. Hoping to move to Melbourne at some point this year. My fiance is an Aussie, but the 189 seemed like less of a headache than the partner process (and less money) since I was already licensed in Australia. Anyhow, hope to hear from people and good luck to everyone!

HI @AmanKaur, The EOI process for people with the same number of points goes by the order they were submitted. So if people with 60 points are waiting for a year ago, they will get invited before you. All of that being said, they have not invited 60 pointers for a very very long time, and it doesn't look like they will. In order to score an invite you should resit for the English exam to get more points if you didn't already get the maximum. If you already got the maximum then you might just need to wait until you have enough work experience to go up a tier (as long as your age group at the same time doesn't bring you down a tier). Having a license in Australia only changes your ANMAC assessment route, but doesn't help you to get chosen any faster for the visa. I re-sat the English exam and got the maximum points which gave me 75, and I was invited within 3 weeks at that time. If you got 10 more points it would put you at 70, which wouldn't be quite as fast, but you should still eventually get an invite whereas there is a chance 60 pointers will not. Hope this helps!

Hey there! You don't need all of the proof of your coursework as you did for AHPRA, but you need more work related information. You have to have proof of employment from every place you have worked for more than 3 months and a letter of reference from them as well. The letter of reference also has to include the dates of employment (I think you can just use the reference letter, but to be extra safe I included the HR letter as well), be on official hospital letterhead, and has to be written by a supervising nurse or midwife. They use these letters to give you credit for yours years of service, which allows you to earn more points. Other than this I found that I had most other information (such as proof of education/graduation, etc) from the AHPRA process. Hope this helps!

@mrsgellerby congratulations! As a fellow nurse in this process you've kept me well informed throughout! It is so exciting to watch you get your visa! Good luck and enjoy your months of travel!

Supposedly, but I did the modified and mine still took the full time.

I received an invitation today for perioperative nursing. Any other invites out there? Submitted immediately and that 9-12 month wait is daunting.

Nope. Everything is processed it as it's received. They don't speed it up for anyone nor for any reason, no payments or phone calls or anything. Hopefully the computer system is more efficient as they had hoped! Good luck!

Hey Cobain, I submitted mine in October when it said the turn around was 3 weeks. At that time everything was paper based. I submitted all of the forms in the exact same package, but they said they didn't have my cover letter. They then said I had to send a new one and that the turn around time technically doesn't start until they have received everything (including from previous licensing organizations). I overnighted (which in reality is 4 days to Australia) a new cover letter and photo, etc. The very next morning they said they had "received" my cover letter, meaning they found it. Anyhow, all of that being said- the processing times changed during that time and they didn't count my submission date until they had everything in hand. I was then looking at a 7 week turn around. From start to finish my turn around was 11 weeks, which was highly disappointing as I turn 33 in April and am trying to submit before then! Supposedly the paper system is supposed to be more efficient. I was also doing a modified, but mine took the full time (and then some). I think from all of the forum posts the best advice is just to be patient, because the times change all of the time and we have no control once we submit. Good luck and hope to see you on the sunny side!

Hey guys, I'm a bit nervous and hoping someone knows the answer or knows where to find the answer. I'm hoping to submit for the 189 this month as I currently have 80 points in my EOI. Once submitting I am front loading everything and took the risk with my medicals and police checks. I'm hoping with a complete package I might have a faster outcome, but am nervous that the times have increased to 9-12 months. Here lies my dilemma. I'm getting married in Australia in December! I obviously would like to be able to attend my own wedding. Once submitted for the 189 can I continue to visit Australia? I have an ETA valid through September, and would like to go visit my fiance who already moved (Australian citizen but we decided on the skilled migrant vs partner due to cost/processing times/permanent visa). If so, I have heard that if you apply for an ETA while waiting for the 189 and it comes through even 1 minute after that it would bump the 189, and now I would be stuck back at the beginning. I thought that the way around this would just be to pay for my ETA again now, prior to applying for the 189 to make sure this wouldn't happen. However, it says on the ETA website that since I have a valid ETA until September 13th- that the new one will become active September 14th. I'm nervous that if I submit for this and possibly have my visa prior that when this becomes "active" it will bump my visa. All in all, just trying to find a way to pray I can be at my own wedding! All advice is appreciated! Thanks so much!

It was so tough! I've also heard the PTE is great. Lesson learned.... the TOEFL is ridiculous.

@strayadreams awesome news as I already have them! I was worried I'd need to redo and send them straight to Oz. Thanks so much!

Hi guys! I am (hoping) I am about to upload my application (just lodged EOI with 80 points). Quick question about police checks. I am attempting to front load my application, as I'm getting married in Australia in December and hoping for a turn around prior to then. For the police checks- how do you have them sent directly to Oz? The e-medical service was easy enough to figure out to have it prepped and ready to go, but I don't know how to front load the police checks. Has anyone else done this? I'm nervous about the previous statement from someone that says the official processing time. In addition, when I have requested my background investigation from the US- they will not send it abroad, it has to be sent directly to me. Can I just upload the scan of the document? Thanks so much for your help on this! One other question- in the chance that I don't get approved pre-wedding I was considering applying for an ETA again to give me the ability to enter Australia for our wedding date. However, I had heard that if you apply for another visa during the time that you are waiting for your visa response. and if somehow you get approved for the 189 and then literally one minute later (or anytime later) get approved for the ETA that the ETA will bump your 189 and now I would just have an ETA. Has anyone else heard this before? I was thinking I would apply now for the ETA so it would definitely be approved prior to the visa being approved, but my current does not run out until September. It states that if I apply for it again that it will take effect on September 13th when my other expires. If this were the case and I were miraculously approved for the visa prior to this date- would my visa be bumped and I would only end up with an ETA? Super nervous about this chance. Any advice would be helpful! Thanks!

Hi Guys, I was thinking that when I was looking into taking the English exams I didn't really see information about how people felt about the exams. I took both the TOEFL and the IELTS general, and wanted to give my personal experience in case any others were wondering the differences/which exam to take. I encourage others who have taken the other formats to share their experiences as well, but please remember we cannot give away test questions/answers etc, just our opinions. My background- I am applying for the Skilled Independent 189 Visa as a perioperative nurse. I did nursing as a secondary masters degree and have an undergraduate in communication with an extensive writing history in public relations. I am a native English speaker from the United States and all of my education has been conducted in English. All of that being said, I found the TOEFL test very difficult. I started studying almost 2 months prior. I took 6 full length practice exams with nearly perfect scores on each. I studied every single day. On the TOEFL I found the reading to be the most difficult, followed by the listening. I found the range of subjects very complex, and sometimes felt that without any previous knowledge on the content that the questions were very difficult to answer, especially in the given time. I was hoping on the test day that perhaps the practice exams were more difficult than the real thing, but for the reading I actually found the actual test for more difficult than the practice questions. In addition, the testing format for me was terrible. I took the exam in San Francisco and they asked me if I would be willing to sit first as I was the only native speaker that day. Of course it didn't matter to me- they even mentioned I might get out earlier if I started earlier. Anyhow, they sat me down and my 60 minutes of reading started, however, prior to starting you speak out loud and adjust your microphone for 2 minutes. Little did I know that every other person would start at a staggered time and would come in talking into their microphone for 2 minutes while I was already into my reading portion. The talking and adjusting of microphones occurred for probably 45 of my 60 minutes. It was very distracting, especially with the difficult content. My final score on the TOEFL: R:28 L:30 S:30 W:29 - which meant if I wanted the full 20 I would need to sit for the exam again. I decided instead of sitting for the TOEFL again I would try another testing format. I felt that I could study no harder than I already did, and truly hated the testing format. I decided to sit for the IELTS general (make sure for your individual visa this is allowed- I believe for nursing it has to be the academic, but because I am from one of the countries where it is not required- I was only taking it for points and not my skills assessment). I wanted to have at least a month to study for the IELTS, but didn't based on the testing times I could find. I could either take it in 2.5 weeks or 3 months, so I decided to bite the bullet and take it in 2.5 weeks. I found the actual exam for the IELTS to be easier than the practice exams I had taken. For the IELTS I was most stressed about the listening section and hearing everything I needed. I was also worried about spelling due to differences in American English (color:colour, harbor:harbour, etc) and basically all other countries who speak English. However, the test was very organized. We all sat at the exact same time and started at the same time. There were no distractions and the room was silent. It was a great testing environment. Finally, for the IELTS you have to speak to a person, and not into a microphone. As a native speaker I found this more comfortable, even if the subjects felt silly and awkward. I could see for a non-native speaker though, this might feel more intimidating. My final score on IELTS: R:9 W:8 L:9 S:9 Hope others share their experiences too, and help other people see how the testing scenarios and tests felt. The more the better, as I'm sure there are people who loved the TOEFL and hated the IELTS.

Hi there and welcome! I have found this website helpful in finding estimated times. http://www.iscah.com/ For 65 points right now it is estimating you won't be invited to apply until AFTER June 2018, based on how many applications they have recently been taking/processing (was much higher in September/October than now). Also, you can't account for how many people are coming in ahead of you. Even if they apply after you, if they have more points, they will be invited first. As mentioned by @DukeNinja, you can increase your points by taking the English exam again if you didn't already get maximum points for that. As a native speaker I am finding the IELTS much easier than the TOEFL (as for the IELTS you can take the general instead of the academic for nursing if you come from an English speaking country). Here is the full table for estimates (nursing is in the bottom in blue under non-pro rata): http://www.iscah.com/eoi-invitation-estimates/ If you are thinking about trying the IELTS exam, here is a website with some good practice exams to get a feel for it: https://ieltsonlinetests.com/19/catalogue/ielts-general-training Good luck! Hope to see you (and myself) down under in the future!

Hey Leeh! Welcome to the process! Yes, they will want to see proof for anything you are claiming. That being said though work experience only counts for skilled independent work (no training while in school counts- although you'll need the amount of school hours you did for the AHPRA registration eventually, but not for your ANMAC work experience). Hope this makes sense! I registered for AHPRA prior to ANMAC due to my partner being Australian and wanting the flexibility to go when we were ready without going the partner visa route. As Richard mentioned, and I was unaware of, once approved I had 90 days to appear in person in Australia with a visa and connections to life in Australia (which was pretty difficult because at the time I was still living and working in the United States). Had I known that I may have waited on AHPRA until the visa phase, unless you're open to heading over to Oz possibly a few times between now and when you hope to move.

How do people list employment that is ongoing/current and still get credit for it under the EOI? ANMAC is updating my letter (after an initial mistake on their part), but I am right on the border of the 8 year mark and want to get full points when in a few weeks I tip toe across that line. Do I have to put exactly what they put? Or considering it is the same job that ANMAC has already approved for experience can I list it with it's current date and then show proof to the immigration officer that I am still employed? Thanks so much for your help!

Richard, Thank you so much (again!) for the response. That is great news that if the ANZCO codes have the same 4 numbers in the beginning I can count them for the same credit- because they do :). How do people list employment that is ongoing/current and still get credit for it under the EOI? They have agreed to update my letter, but I am right on the border of the 8 year mark and want to get full points when in a few weeks I tip toe across that line. Do I have to put exactly what they put? Or can they mark that this is current (but dated from a certain date) and then I can just show proof of my ongoing employment to the immigration officer? Thank you! Lindsey

Hi Everyone! Just received my skills determination from ANMAC, and I was approved, however, there were many errors in my years of experience. They gave me credit for every job, just the years and dates are all over the place. For example- my current hospital. I started in January 2014 as a travel nurse and stayed on as staff starting in September 2014. My manager clearly stated this in the letter that I am still a current employee, and have taken on more roles etc since transitioning to staff. ANMAC after the fact requested a letter from HR from the travel company as well, which states that my contract ended in September (which it did because I became staff). However, on the letter they wrote from January 2014-September 2014 (ignoring the period of time that I have been staff that my manager clearly explained). Also, I worked at one hospital called Washington Hospital Center, and another called George Washington University Medical Center (similar names, yes, but different places) and they gave me 9 months of experience at George Washington Medical Center when I had 4 months there and 5 at the other while doing contract/travel nursing, and didn't list the other for experience. Finally, my work experience at all of the hospitals has been the same role. The way the hospitals explained the information was also very similar. However, for my first 2 hospitals as staff, and then 3 as a contract they gave me work experience for NEC. My final hospital (where they made the dates mistake) it says they give me work experience as Perioperative. Does this matter or not? Can I just claim overall work experience added together? Does anybody know how to get them to rectify the dates? Does this need a full appeal and $400? All of the information is already in front of them so I'm not quite sure how this works. Also, with the letter in hand can I go ahead and apply for the expression of interest? Do I have to only list what they gave me credit for (or can I list what I've actually done?). On the letter it does state this advice is the opinion of ANMAC, but does not guarantee the awarding of any points. Weird feeling to be happy and completely frustrated at the same time. I turn 33 in April so am trying to have this all finished before I lose points and with all of my experience should have been at 75, so was hoping to be invited quick. Thank you for any and all insight! Lindsey

Hi everyone, I applied in October when there was a 3 week wait for the anmac modified skills assessment. They received all of my paperwork in full on November 12th (as they said the cover letter and passport photo never showed up, even though they were in the same package... and later showed up). Anyhow, on November 12th it now says the wait is 7 weeks. When they list the processing times is that how long until they start reviewing your application and/or how long it takes once they start reviewing it? The only email I have received is the one saying they “now” received everything, but I’m guessing that doesn’t mean they’ve started going through it. I’m also guessing I’ll be waiting 7 weeks from November 12th and not from October 22nd when they initially received everything else. Thanks so much for any and all insight! Good luck to everyone else out there!

Thank you!

Hi Guys, I'm attempting to frontload my application, so risked it and did the medical and police checks early. For the medical I know they submit directly to your application, but for the police checks do you just get the letters of clearance from your local authority and then the national one and submit them yourself with the application? Thanks for any insight!