JRC

Yep! We were due to fly out on the 23rd July which is obviously now cancelled so now we’re just waiting.

I feel your pain! We had our 489 visa granted in January and planned on flying out two days after finishing school (I’m a teacher) in July but this is now put on hold. We sold our house in September 2019 and didn’t end up signing and actually moving until February this year - so if I were you I’d get it on the market now if you’re serious about selling up before you leave. In relation to the exchange rate, we bought some AUD through Global in March and they said that the GBP is not strong at the minute because of Brexit but the AUD isn’t either because of their tensions with China. We managed to lock in a $1.97 rate. We are super stressed about the lack of timeframe and the fact that we feel like we’ve effectively wasted a quarter of our visa before even getting there but you’ve just got to stay positive and if it’s what you really want then stick with it. Just don’t let know it alls who are guessing about timeframes get to you. No one knew this pandemic was going to happen and no one knows for certain yet what will happen.

It was at university. It is a super frustrating process for the teaching route as they are really specific with their requirements. When I undertook the overseas qualification check with the south Australia teachers registration board it was nice to finally have someone in aus take into consideration all my experience as it felt completely discredited with aitsl.

I completed it all in the UK (you do gain more points for studying in Aus). My degree is a three year BA in Primary Education (QTS) and the PGCE is in early years education (EYTS) all my work experience has been with children between 2 and 7 years plus placements with children aged between 0-11 years and they require proof of your placements too. I lost points for experience too because the discounted any experience gained before I completed my PGCE (I had already been a qualified teacher in the UK for a number of years).

Hi I’m an ECT and gained a 489 visa this route from the UK. It has to be four years full time (or part time equivalent) university level study. I ended up having to do an extra year in order to fulfil the criteria. So I have a 3 year degree and one year PGCE. For my visa (because it’s state sponsored) I also had to have experience and proof of the required experience. Not sure if I’ve helped or just told you what you already know to be honest. Hope you get sorted.

I think it’s purely based on the fact that my qualification was based from birth that I managed to qualify as the early childhood teacher and is specifically just as an early years teacher for t he PGCE. It is all a very frustrating process. In Australia early years education is from birth to 7 years. In England it’s birth to 5 years. I undertook placements across both qualifications with children from 6 weeks up to 11 years and obviously surpassed the minimum days AITSL require. I have undertook paid work with children aged from 2 to 7 years on permanent contracts as well as worked with children aged from 4-11 in supply when I first qualified as a teacher. It seems more and more difficult for uk teachers to gain skilled work visas. When I first got in touch with our MA she was wanting me to apply as a primary teacher but because I haven’t worked in Key Stage 2 on a long term basis then I’ve never had to teach a foreign language since qualifying so therefore wouldn’t have been eligible. Even though my original degree is in primary education and I spent the whole three years learning how to be a primary school teacher as opposed to three years doing any old degree and then one year learning to be a teacher. The aus requirements just don’t seem to line up with the uk.

I did a BA Primary Education (QTS) which allows me to teacher primary and early years in the uk and then returned to study a PGCE in Early Years Education (EYTS) for a year. With the early years PGCE I had to do placements with children aged from birth to 7 years which therefore allowed me to apply for our 489 as an early childhood teacher. I also had to provide evidence that I had been working with the age appropriate children to be classed as an early childhood teacher. The frustrating part is that they dismissed the six years experience prior to the PGCE but I did have the minimum requirement for state sponsorship with SA.

Hi, Seaford is where we’ve been looking at too! We’re still waiting on our visas but had CO contact so hopeful that we won’t be waiting too much longer and then heading out there by the end of July 2020. We (hubby and I - plus a 2 year old too) would be happy to meet up but we live in the nottinghamshire area not London.

I’m a primary and early years teacher currently waiting on my visa. I am using a registered migration agent called Smith-Jones Migration and would highly recommend her. When I initially got in touch she gave me a free consultation and realistic expectations of my chances for the different visa options.

They want four years full time uni level education and the minimum number of placement days and they’re non compromising unfortunately. I was in a similar predicament in that I had a 3 years BA in primary ed and then decided to do a PGCE in Early years after teaching for five years and AITSL dismissed all experience before the PGCE which meant I lost much needed points.

My parents and sister live in WA whilst I’m in the UK and we FaceTime. Always perfect connection and easy for the parents to use, even for my dad who still refuses to have a mobile phone but loves his iPad.

E2 Language. They have free YouTube videos but it’s worth paying to undertake the practise test on the PTE website too so you know the test process too and have experienced it before the real one.

My husband has glaucoma (I realise it’s a different eye condition so may differ for you) and has had two operations on his eyes in the last six years. Because he doesn’t currently use medication for this condition it had no impact on the health assessment we had done last month.

As verystormy says I would also recommend getting in touch with a migration agent. We used SmithJones Migration Ltd and she has been open and honest throughout the process. She also gave a free consultation before committing to use her services and gave her opinion on whether she thought I had a strong chance of achieving a positive skills assessment.

I had a successful skills assessment with AITSL as an early childhood teacher. I have a three year primary education degree (with QTS) and then one year PGCE in early years (with EYTS). They weren’t really interested in the QTS or EYTS only in the four years university level education and a minimum teaching practice. They also didn’t take into consideration my experience prior to attaining the fourth year of education (which was really frustrating) and I also had a letter from university confirming that wit was the equivalent of one year full time for the EYITT. I did have a transcript for both courses. South Australia Teacher Registration Board did at least care about all my experience and both courses though when having my qualifications assessed with them. Not sure whether this has helped?!