mt9754

Worth waiting for agents but from what I have read you need a travel exemption approved and attached in order for any visa application to be processed (until the borders reopen).  Or are you onshore?

9 hours ago, skyeman said:

Hey Folks,

Hope you are all safe and well?

Like many of you I am awaiting grant (hopefully) of a 491 for QLD with 95 points as a mechanic. I front-loaded my medicals and PCC in April 2020 when I submitted and they have now expired. I know the advice on here is generally that visas are almost a competition due to the limited number each state can grant so I am wondering if most of you are re-doing your medicals and PCC even though you haven't had case officers assigned yet?

I would hate to waste money for them to expire again if it doesn't get granted in the next 12 months, but from what I can read you join the back of the queue so to speak once a case officer requests that the expired ones be renewed.

 

Just wondering what everyone else decided to do? We are all in the same boat and I realise it could drag on longer than a year before we see consistent offshore grants. 

It’s a personal choice.  If you don’t mind the cost then keeping your application good to go so you can get a grant with no CO contact is the fastest route.

The preferred route is to only get them done when asked, it will cost less money but will also take a little longer overall as it takes time to get them done and then some more time for the CO to review them.

I understand the border is still closed to most temporary visa holders, given this i’d be tempted to hold fire on renewing docs until Oct/Nov earliest when Australia will be contemplating opening the border (unless your occupation is eligible for a critical skills travel exemption).  

On 08/07/2021 at 21:54, Nemesis said:

The OP is flying into Melbourne, and will need to quarantine there. People can't board connecting flights to other parts of Australia until they have completed quarantine. 

It really depends on the Etihad flight.  If it’s the same flight number the whole way there and you don’t have to get off the plane at Melbourne (with no domestic travellers boarding in Melbourne) then you may be able to quarantine in Sydney.  Singapore Air and a few others have some flight routes like this.

If the flight is separate and you have to disembark in Melbourne then you will definitely have to quarantine in Melbourne and will miss your Sydney flight by around 14 days as rules currently stand.

49 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Considering that a professional agent has told you otherwise, I would take his advice seriusly.

Ah sorry, he didn't have a signature, I stand corrected.

8 hours ago, Marisawright said:

@mt9754, I think you are wrong.   When you apply for a state, that state wants to know that you have chosen that state because you genuinely want to live there, and if they give you a visa, you will stay in that state long-term.  If you apply to other states too, they know that, and they will decide there's too much risk you will go somewhere else. So none of them will invite you.

If you submit one EOI and choose all states then you won't get picked by any of them as they all have their own systems in place.  However, there is no harm in submitting separate EOIs to different states.  There is nothing wrong with expressing interest in 2 visas, 2 states or even 2 countries?

On 04/06/2021 at 21:52, skizza83 said:

Hi there,

I submitted a EOI a few months back for South Australia but just wanted to know if it's also possible to submit a secondary one with a different region and what the implications might be (If any).

Also, will I need to create a new skill Select account to submit a secondary with a different region?

Cheers

Yes that’s fine, no implications.  It is the only way to apply for a subset of states.  You will need a new account and get a new EOI number.

Make sure you write down your EOIs and passwords, it can be a bit confusing when you get an email to know which account it is referring to.

Although there are no stereotypes, it should be a serious long term relationship demonstrable from many angles with solid evidence.

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/supporting/Pages/evidence-of-relationship.aspx

Having been apart recently doesn’t bode well.  Have a read of the criteria on the website, your comments make it sound as if the relationship might be quite casual but wouldn’t want to jump to conclusions based on 1 or 2 sentences.

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/supporting/Pages/evidence-of-relationship.aspx

Full details on health examinations required are here:
https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-support/meeting-our-requirements/health/what-health-examinations-you-need

If you're applying for a eVisitor visa, your parents are from a low risk country, and they are under 75 years old then I don't think they'll need to undertake a health examination?

Were you looking at the 651 or the 600?

I scored too poorly in the written section even though I got a C in English at GCSE.  You need to demonstrate you can use complex structures for your sentences, I rarely use them as my line of work is very technical.

Another challenge with IELTS is that it's paper based.  For me it meant it took me a long time to write my answers and I couldn't restructure them at the end.

Personally I would recommend Cambridge or PTE.  PTE is easiest by far and Cambridge is the same as IELTS except you can use a computer if you book the right one.

3 hours ago, VicentJ said:

Hi all,

I was wondering how long does it take to receive your Medicare card after applying for it. Anybody have any insights?

I applied online a month ago after obtaining PR, and haven't received any response yet. Just wondering whether it will be a matter of days or a matter of months...

Thanks!

Pretty quickly - we completed ours at a Centrelink so didn't need to mail it through.  It took about 2 weeks max plus Auspost took about another 2 weeks to send it out.

On 20/04/2021 at 01:31, Klear said:

Thank you, everyone, for your thoughts. Very helpful, although probably I won’t be tossing a coin! Apologies for the duplicate original post. 

I have always been quite decisive in making life choices but this one is causing me difficulties!

 I may have down-played my and my partner’s preparedness to live in AUS, even with the minuses. If we were to move, very much it would be because also we wished to do so, having weighed up all of the issues, and not only because a child had chosen likewise.

@Marisawright, thank you for your replies. In terms of fiscal and pensions advice, the firm I use is an international firm with bases in the UK and AUS and it has dual-qualified advisers with a track record in these areas. Your point about timing is particularly pertinent, which is one reason why I need to make a decision shortly!

 

 

Sometimes it can be difficult to make a decision if the time is not right.  You might find it becomes easier to make a decision later when there are less plates spinning (eg more years of retirement under your belt, more certainty with your siblings - you might find they both decide to stay in the UK afterall for example).

24 minutes ago, Cup Final 1973 said:

I was referring to Australia and the take up among over 70s.

Lol, oh sorry - yeh me reading your message totally wrong haha

3 minutes ago, Cup Final 1973 said:

I went to my GP last Wednesday for my flu jab before leaving for the UK.  He was despairing at the number of patients refusing to have the Covid jab.  He said the surgery was thinking of stopping administering the jab because they were losing money and wasting a great deal of administrative time.

I guess they must be getting down to the dregs from each age group, plus the final chunk of younger people who do seem more reluctant.

Out of 66 million people:
34 million invited (40+, vulnerable and health care)
16 million being worked through (from 18 to 40 years old)
16 million ineligible (from 0 to 18 years old)

34 million people jabbed so far.  So it's looking pretty high take up thankfully despite some numpties

10 hours ago, Ken said:

Just had a look at that. Can't get my head around their pricing model. You've a choice between monthly and annual for a product you only need to use one day a year? Surely everyone would cancel after the first month?

Yeh I found it weird too.  Out of politeness I went for 1 year (there is 20% discount code).  

Having used it for a bit now, as long as you’re subscribed then items in your connected bank accounts will be automatically categorised and added to a draft return for next year.  Useful to ease the pain especially with buy-to-let income and expenses.  But I agree, potentially not a big enough reason to stay subscribed for most.

An old thread but just thought i'd mention there are some apps out there these days for Self Assessment including SA109.  Untied is one example.

I'm depressed about how long this will drag on for, unfortunately a lot of the Australian population are not bothered about opening the borders at all and so the government attitude is currently reflecting that. 

I just hope the daily grilling from all those travel eager journalists and influential economists/big businesses will really pile on the pressure haha.  For once big business is actually on my side lol.

10 minutes ago, Mmmbop said:

Do you have any link to the criteria? I thought they constituted 'exceptional circumstances'.

https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/leaving-australia#toc-6

Check out Ordinary Resident section.  So the 12 out of 24 months is not actually a thing and the real legislation disagrees:

https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/covid-19/Documents/outward-travel-restrictions-operation-directive.pdf

Quote

There is no numerical calculation as to whether someone is ‘usually resident’ in a country other than Australia – it is a matter of judgement. Acceptable evidence may include, but is not limited to:

   a. government issued documentation (for example foreign driver's licence) which is supported by one other type of documentation confirming:
   b. owning or renting property in a foreign country (e.g. utility bills, rates notices, lease agreement)
   c. location of immediate family members
   d. employment contract

Note: Length of time spent onshore in Australia prior to last departure (movement record history) and significant ties offshore should all be taken into consideration when determining residency status.

So it boils down to common sense, I think for most of us we would be considered ordinary residents in Australia.

 I hear that today the UK has secured 60 million additional Pfizer jabs for a booster programme in Q3.  Yet Australia can’t even secure a decent number for a first jab until Q4.  The mind boggles.

1 minute ago, Ken said:

You are right, a more dangerous strain getting out before vaccination could cause 20,000 deaths in Australia - but dangerous strains are already on the loose in the UK and you want to go there unvaccinated! It's clearly a huge risk travelling to the UK unvaccinated where you know Covid is on the loose and spending a minimum of 4 weeks unprotected from it (depending on how quickly you can get your two shots and how long they then need to take effect). Waiting in Australia where (while there's always a risk of an outbreak) it's not currently on the loose is far safer.

 It makes sense to stay in Oz, i’m just so frustrated at the glacial pace of the vaccine rollout and opening up :(.  Especially now deaths are approaching zero in UK and they are opening back up for good, the US not far behind too.

Thanks everyone for your replies, wish there were other options but I will just need to suck it up like everyone else haha.

Just now, HappyHeart said:

You can't just 'choose' to go back, can you? 

I thought you had to provide evidence of need to travel..exceptional circumstances etc 

You have to meet the criteria, as i’ve not been in Australia long and most of my ties are still with the UK and I currently meet the criteria.

For me, leaving is fine but wouldn’t feel right to return (morally) until they open up international travel a bit more and the caps are gone.  Otherwise I’d feel i’d be travelling against the spirit of the rules (but not the letter).

Fingers crossed we can hold it at bay.  In the meantime I think i will move my flights back to december on the off chance they start vaccinating under 40s by November.

10 minutes ago, Parley said:

There is not going to be 20000 deaths. We have been all through Covid for over 12 months with less than 1000 deaths. 

We have also learned from our mistakes which is a good thing.

The borders won't open much until next year at the earliest anyway. I don't see them letting students in on a large scale this year. They will wait until the vaccination program is complete and other countries like India need to sort out their issues too.

I think this is where we disagree, I know so many close friends who have had Covid deaths in the family from the UK, I worry about what would happen if the UK variant got some traction out here.

3 minutes ago, Blue Flu said:

I think most are aware of the statistics. While quite correct in pointing out the greater likelihood of blood clots through taking the pill, the difference being there are other forms of contraception available. Hence there is a choice. This is/was not the case with the AZ vaccine . Besides that there was  not an urgency to take something , where waiting a little, would avail an alternative vaccine. 

 

That’s fair, I think my point is i’m not sure we have the luxury of waiting until Q4, I worry the gvt. might regret that decision.

For me it’s weighing up a 20% (?) chance of a widespread outbreak killing 20,000 people vs 25 deaths from bloodclots.

23 minutes ago, Parley said:

A Canadian woman in her 50s has died after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine and developing a blood clot in her brain.

I'm waiting for Pfizer myself. What is the hurry ? We have no covid in the community. I doubt we will have major outbreaks again. The odd small manageable situation like in WA will happen from time to time.

I am keen to travel back to the UK as soon as I can. I’m also not sure how long hotel quarantine will keep working.

Just to put the blood clots into perspective, you’re 400 times more likely to get a blood clot from the pill than Astra.

I think hotel quarantine has done well but we’re always on the cusp of losing control of the virus.  Pretty frustrated by the lack of urgency from Australian gvt too.  I’d be all over Astra if they offered it to me.