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. 

6 hours ago, Mel1995 said:

@JRC One last question
Did you do the post-graduate Certificate at a College or at a university/tafe?
Thanks in advance!

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. 

2 hours ago, Dean0703 said:

My Mrs is qualified to teach primary which is age 3 - 11 - what the Aussie’s term early years and primary. 
 

She had Primary 2 last year (age 6) and has Primary 1 (age 4-5) this year but the qualification must be in Early Years and as such as degree plus PGDE is no use. Whilst she is qualified the Aussies disagree. 

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. 

3 hours ago, Dean0703 said:

How did you get qualification on primary and early years?

My wife is a primary teacher and whilst her PGDE qualification qualifies her to teach early education and primary the AITSL only recognise a stand alone qualification for early years as opposed to a Primary PGDE which qualifies you to do both here.

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. 

On 28/12/2019 at 21:30, GB537 said:

Hi guys! I wasn’t quite sure where to post this...

I was wondering if anybody here is due to move to SA in the new year?

Im heading out on a 489 visa, first for a 3 week holiday in March, then moving properly in mid April. Looking to settle in Seaford, south of Adelaide. 

I was wondering if anybody else due to move over there would like to meet up in the UK before going? Maybe get to know people in advance so it doesn’t feel quite so lonely once we get there? My sister did something similar before she emigrated and is still good friends with a bunch of other expats 15 years later!

Anyway, let me know if anyone is game and I’ll try to organise something!

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. 

14 hours ago, Hockers said:

Hi all,

 

I am a primary teacher with over 10 years experience, I am trying to move out to WA to be nearer my sister who has permanent residency in Perth. I believe my only option is a sponsored work visa, my question is, are there any schools that would be willing to employ and sponsor me to do this? Can anyone recommend a good way of doing this? Or if you think there is another visa that I could be eligible for I would greatly appreciate any advice.

Thank you in advance for any help or advice you can provide. 

 

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. 

5 hours ago, Robyn clark said:

Hi there, I’m after some advice if anyone can help. I am currently starting my 189 skilled visa applications and will be bringing my family to Australia with me. My husband has an eye condition called best disease. Would this effect him coming over? Wondering if anyone knows of this eye disease and has any info on it as wouldn’t want to pay for visa for him to be declined on this basis.

thanks in advance 

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. 

6 minutes ago, VERYSTORMY said:

I would run this one past a good registered migration agent. 

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?!

I am using a MA and we completed our Form 80 forms and then sent them to her. It was very time consuming and I understand your frustration because we also completed a huge questionnaire for our MA at the very beginning of the process with mostly the same information as the Form 80. 

2 minutes ago, James H said:

 

Thanks ! 

Nothing too major then ! 

No, we were worried because my hubby has glaucoma and we took all his medical history with us but because he doesn’t take any medication for it then it didn’t matter anyway.
 

I always thought the Medicals were because Australia didn’t want people who were going to cost them money but I think it’s more about whether you will be physically fit and well enough to put into the system. 

We have family in a different state to which we have sponsorship and also family in New Zealand. I wrote this in my statement in my EOI application and also declared it on my Form 80 and still received an invitation to apply for the visa. I think as long as you are still showing your commitment to the sponsoring state then it doesn’t matter. 

5 minutes ago, James H said:

What was involved in the medical ? 

Blood test - for HIV

Weight, height and BMI

Chest Xray 

Urine sample screened

Mobility and reflexes assessed e.g. can you touch your toes

Asked what medication if any and whether we’d had any operations or medical issues in the last few (I think 5) years.

And that was about it I think. We chose the Sutton Coldfield hospital and they were lovely, helpful and really friendly. Would highly recommend them. 

6 hours ago, Areyousure said:

 

 

 

 

Hi guys,

 

so I finally got the letter from my university( Sutherland PGCE) they have me this really long letter writing in full detail about all the modules, within which they have mentioned the age group as well as the fact that I have done 60 days of supervised teaching. 

What I’m concerned is that they have mentioned that it is a full time 36 week course. And also that I did 6 weeks of teaching practice with approximately 11 hours of teaching per week and another 6 weeks block with approximately 14 hours of teaching per week. 

 

Will AITSL be happy with this letter ? dnt really want them to have an issue because the assessment alone is $900

It sounds good but I honestly don’t know for sure - that’s why I chose to use an agent because I couldn’t cope with the stress and hassle of doubting myself each time a document was submitted. 

It tells you as you pay for the UK one. It’s 10 days unless you pay for the fast track option. 

20 hours ago, llessur said:

In all fairness your experience relates to IT so stating that 'anyone considering Adelaide should reconsider' is probably a bit strong. Perhaps if you're chasing an IT-related career with a big corporation and wouldn't be happy in an IT role in a school, university, health care provider, the public service or a smaller organisation then Adelaide perhaps wouldn't be your first choice. However, we have lived in Adelaide since 2012 and have had absolutely no problems in finding (non-IT) work. Both my partner and I work in Universities (non-academic roles) with short hours, great employee benefits, good pay and are eternally happy that we don't have to put up with the long commutes, overcrowding and ridiculous house prices of the eastern cities.

Adelaide tends to gets a lot of bad press on these forums and, whilst that's obviously not the case with you as you live here, a lot of the negativity seems to come from people who either lived in or visited Adelaide (or had a friend of a friend of a friend who did) 10 or more years ago, had a mediocre time and then have bashed it ever since. I've said it before on this forum that Adelaide has changed immeasurably in the last 7-8 years in terms of vibrancy and attitude - it is finally embracing the smaller boutique city that it actually is rather than trying to play catch up with the larger cities.

I would highly recommend Adelaide to anyone who wants an easy, relaxed lifestyle, free from many of the problems than blight the larger cities. We have great weather, lovely beaches, endless parklands, a vibrant city centre, next to no traffic, decent public transport, realistic house prices and two of the world's best wine regions right on our doorstep. It's a great place to bring up a family but now the city centre has sorted itself out I'd also be more than happy living my younger days here too.

Thanks to my wife being from Adelaide originally, we have a large group of friends, all aged 30-40 and from a wide variety of educational backgrounds - I don't know of anyone who has had significant trouble finding a job in their chosen field in Adelaide.

It's also a bit of a fallacy that no major organisations have a presence in Adelaide - many do, although not their head offices. Origin, Suncorp, Boeing, BHP, ANZ, Westpac, Bendigo Bank, Ernst & Young, JLL and Santos a just a few off the top of my head that have a sizable workforce in Adelaide.

If you're chasing a specific career or you want to further your career by moving through a large number of organisations in a relatively short period of time then you might decide to move elsewhere from a strategic perspective - but that's the same for any city in any country. If you wanted an IT career with a big corporation in the UK you'd move to London, or another major city. You'd be unlikely to move to Littlehampton - although the latter would offer an arguably much better lifestyle for many people.

People shouldn't write Adelaide off just because it isn't Sydney or Melbourne. The lifestyle advantages Adelaide offers exist precisely because it isn't Sydney or Melbourne.

Always good to hear your positive views on Adelaide. I couldn’t imagine living or working in a big bustling city which is why we have chosen South Australia. 

Avon’s Skin-So-Soft spray oil is the best thing I’ve found to repel them and it smells lovely too. 

On 22/09/2019 at 19:47, Zoe848 said:

I have checked the list of occupations, I was hoping to try and secure a job before moving over there but maybe I’m being naïve?? My plan was to do my research, continue working in the uk for another 12-18 months and add to the savings I have and then maybe take the plunge. JRC please can you give me the name of the agent you used? As you can probably tell I haven’t got a clue so any information I can get I’ll be extremely grateful for.

We are using Smith-Jones Migration. 

It’s worth getting in touch with a migration agent and asking for advice. My agent didn’t ask for any money until we were ready to start applying for the skills assessment but gave lots of advice before that without hesitation.