Jenki75

Just a quick question. Has your COGS expired yet? Mine expired 3 days before I arrived to present in person. If yours has also expired, the AHPRA office have a declaration form that you have to complete saying you are still in good standing. The AHPRA office gave me a list of notary public's and I walked 10mins to get the declaration signed and stamped. Which office are you presenting at? I presented at the Sydney one.

Hi LeeH, Yes that's what I did. I think, I might have screen shot the visa details and printed it.

In March I opened a bank account online, flew over and had the bank print off a statement. I listed both addresses with the bank, an Australian address and my home address. I provided a friends Australian address. I had read about others who provided the bank with their AirBnB address and this was OK. AHPRA was happy with the bank statement showing the Australian address. You also have to keep your boarding pass as proof and print off a copy of your visa. I used a holiday visa and just printed the confirmation. Good Luck

We are still in the EOI stage waiting for an invite. We are also in our 40's like you. We are only open to going if we can get a permanent visa. ANMAC mentions somewhere on their website how long they expect the process to take. It felt like ANMAC and AHPRA took forever but looking back it really didn't. If you end up going to Australia a good place to meet hospital managers is at conferences. I went to one in Sydney when I was over in March.

When I was in Australia in March I met with a DON and NUM for a regional hospital in NSW, they were having a difficult time filling RN positions. Also I have been in touch with a private hospital in rural Queensland keen to employ RN's and Midwives. They are currently offering assistance with a temporary visa, as they are having a hard time with staffing. I think the demand for RN's depend on your skills and where you are interested in living.

You can start with either ANMAC or AHPRA. The drawback to applying to AHPRA first, is that once they approve your registration in principle, you have 3 months to show up in person to prove your identity and obtain your registration. Depending on the complexity of your education/work history, it might be a good idea to gather all documentation and try for AHPRA. If you think your education/work history is straight forward (one university, one or 2 jobs) maybe apply to ANMAC first or at the same time. You can see from my signature below my timeline for AHPRA and ANMAC

CeeJayKav, can I ask how you obtained invites from NSW and Victoria? Did you apply with skills select for NSW and just apply on the Victoria website for sponsorship? When you decided to accept the Victoria nomination did you just change your state preference in skills select?

Hi, If you look at my signature below my post all the dates are there. It took about 11weeks from them receiving the application. Yes they asked for more documentation but it was mostly due to me studying between universities and different countries. I had to get detailed letters from the different universities explaining the pharmacology courses in detail (info included type of examination, hours of tuition, content of the course, course textbooks). The transcript showing I did the course was not enough. They wanted a detailed breakdown of all the practicum placements for example the number of hours in each location. The Statement of service for my present job was not dated, so that needed to be fixed. There were a few other things related to Canadian accreditation that wont apply to you. Perth Office assessed the application and they communicated with me on a regular basis. I ended up going to Sydney in March to prove my identity in person.

I sent mine to the PO Box address and I tracked the package without needing a signature at the receiving end. Everything got there without any problems all three times I sent mail.

Superstardj01 just curious, how long did they give you to enter Australia? Congratulations on your visa!

You can email ANMAC and ask if they received your COGS. If you have no work experience from your home country, then you will not be able to provide a professional reference.

8-12 weeks sounds about right for shipping time from Canada by sea. I Shipped items home to Canada and It took 3 months. For rental advise contact a rental agent in the area and they will tell you what you need to provide for a rental application and how the process works. When we did it a long time ago, we stayed in a motel for 4 nights and were lucky to find a place right away. Not sure if this can be done as quickly today. We did find out ahead of time from the rental agent to bring personal references, bank statements and a letter confirming employment. We also had not rented as we were home owners in Canada. I believe you should be able to update your address with your shipping company once you know where you will be living. Let me know which company you end up using as I would be interested. Thanks, and good luck.

We will be in the same boat as you when we apply. We have a 20yr old in full time university (degree completion 2021) and a 17 year old currently in grade 11. I think as long as they are enrolled in full- time studies and you can prove they are dependent you will be OK.

I did the same as CeeJayKav.....Make sure you take your boarding pass with you and a print out of the visa. I read somewhere that someone used the AirBnB address. I just did mine in March.

Its up to you which one you apply for first. I applied for AHPRA registration first, as it was important for me to know I would have registration before I applied for a 189 or 190 visa. By applying for AHPRA registration first, it did mean I had to take a trip to Australia and present in person (I went with a tourist visa).

Thanks for that cucci! I applied under the 254499 (nec) as I didn't fit in to just one category. I guess I will find out if it was the right choice.

I am going to apply for the ANMAC modified assessment. I’m stumped at this point as I have no clue which code to apply under. My husband is going to be the main applicant on the visa and I am hoping to get the extra 5 points. I am a registered nurse in Canada working as a Labour and delivery/Postpartum nurse. I am theater trained, I can scrub or scout and recover the patient. I work with pregnant patients, triage them, manage the labour, I resuscitate the baby if needed and I continue with care for mother and baby up until discharge. I work with high and low risk patients. Does anyone have a suggestion as to the ANZSCO code? Can I use more than one code?

I presented in person today at AHPRA. I wish I had have been more prepared for what you suggested re the JP signing ANMAC paperwork. Nevermind it might help someone else. So I landed at Sydney international at 0730hrs and bought a train card from W.H.Smith's. I got on the train and went to the bank to finish opening my account that I started online. I gave my Australian address and they printed me a certificate off. I walked all the way down George street until I got to AHPRA and still with my suitcase, went up to the office. They gave me a sheet for Justice of the peace addresses and times they were avalible. I walked to the closest one and got the 2 stat declarations signed. 4.5 hrs after my flight landed it was all done. AHPRA recommended I wait until April 1st to be registered as it's renewal time for next year's registration. They said I will be on the register for April 1st. Perfect! So happy and the weather is 30 and sunny. So happy to be out of the snow and minus temps of Canada.

Did you finally get your name on the register?

Hi PsychNurse, now I feel more comfortable about the visa. I have another question because my COGS and criminal record check expire a few days before I will fly in. Did you sign the statutory decorations for these? If so who did you get to witness them? Thanks for your help!

I just got my nursing registration in principle letter, Yayyyy!!!.( I am a Brit who moved to Canada many years ago). I need to present to the AHPRA office with prof of a visa. Is the ETA tourist visa good enough to present to AHPRA with because you don’t get a paper copy, just an email confirmation and you can not look it up using VEVO. I can check the visa status on the ETA website. Will I be able to use this 601 visa???

deborahj, I think trying another place in Australia is a good idea. Where you are living can make a huge difference with your experience. For example, I am a nurse and should be able to find a job in regional Australia or a major city; however, my husband is in IT and most of the jobs are in the city for him. So, choosing a location to base ourselves will have a huge impact on us. Location plays a major role in your happiness and experience. A big city should be a very different experience for you all. Fingers crossed Melbourne works out for you!

Please listen to everyone’s advise here. AHPRA won’t tell you over the phone that you won’t get registration with a diploma, because the receptionist isn't qualified to give that type of advice. They also they want you to apply and pay the huge assessment/registration fee. They can’t say yes or no until you send in your application. You have to prove that you meet all 8 of the criterion. Criterion number 4 clearly states “Your overseas qualification is equivalent to an Australian bachelor degree (registered nurse) as a minimum”. This means you have to have the same courses covered and the same number of hours in each course as they have in their Australian degree. At best you might be eligible to take their bridging course which is not cheep or you may get registration with conditions (if so no one will hire you with conditions). The best advise I could give is to apply to New Zealand first or top up to a degree.

I mailed mine in to Sydney and they sent it on to Perth as they were too busy in Sydney. I have read somewhere that you can present to any AHPRA office in Australia to present in person, and they forward your ID documents to your case officer. I have to say that the registration officer in Perth has provided excellent communication so far with my application. Still waiting for a decision at the moment as my education is a little bit complicated as I went to college and 2 different universities.

I did exactly what you are thinking about. I went to Australia for 2 years with 3 children on a student visa. My husband continued his job at home and flew out to visit every couple of months. It is very expensive as you have to pay the school system to educate your children, because you are not a citizen of Australia basic education cost are not covered. It was very expensive somewhere around $ 20,0000.00-$ 30,0000.00 for 3 children in elementary school in NSW. Then on top of that you have your university fees which are double that of some of the Australian citizens. I did it as my husband was self employed and was making a lot of money at the time.