KaeDarcy

Thank you for all the comments and advice. I've been debating this heavily with family. Thanks for clarifying! Gosh... It's a wonder why immigration don't change the minimum points to a more honest 90+ for the sake of transparency! Will have to look into and talk over the 190 and 491 options instead. Yup, is does feel rather hopeless, and the current climate/timing of everything going on around the world really doesn't help. You're right though, consultation might just be the best way forward from here.

Hi there I'm currently at my wit's end trying to figure out the best way to remain in Aus in these trying times, and would really appreciate some advice. Long story short, I was visiting family here when Covid-19 struck, and as a result, I haven't been able to return to China where I was working as an English teacher. I don't have any family left in the UK anymore, so settling in Australia sooner than I'd originally planned seems to now be the best option. Fortunately I've been granted a bridging visa to tide me over, but submitting an EOI for the 189 visa seems impossible at the moment due to the points system. I'm a PGCE qualified secondary school teacher, but I don't have 3 years worth of experience, so my points stand at 60. The whole reason for me going overseas to teach was to gain the necessary experience which I couldn't get in the UK with all the Drama Teacher job shortages. At 33 years old, I'm also too old now to apply for any working holiday visa type. It seems that the only way to gain those extra 15 points, is through proof of 'Superior English', which would give me 20 points. Is it fairly common for native English speakers to have to sit the IELTS/Cambridge C1, etc? The immigration guidelines state that I'd need to score 200 points on all 4 parts of the C1 Advanced test (might as well take the C2 test then?), which sounds to me like a 90-100% pass mark? Has anyone here been through the process of taking any of the English exams? Have I perhaps overlooked any other options to boost my points? From reading other posts on the forum, I also get the feeling that 80 points in all honesty, still wouldn't be enough to get a visa invitation? My only other visa option at this point is to tag onto my mom's aged parent application, which she's yet to submit, but time is ticking. I'm not sure how comfortable I feel about waiting up to 30 years to be granted permanent residency, not to mention how this might affect living, travel and working conditions going forwards. I'll be almost retired myself by then!