Cobs_Ahoy

Great news @Elaine N Have you updated your EoI now?

Good luck!

How annoying to miss out by such a small amount! I did PTE after reading a really long thread on here about which English test to do, IELTS sounded way more erratic in terms of marking. PTE wasn't too bad, I did a mock test about a week beforehand to see which areas I was weakest in, then watched a couple of free youtube videos related to that area (essay writing), then I purchased one of the PTE 'question banks' and just ran through them for a couple of evening before the exam. Got 90 in each area so the strategy worked for me. When is your PTE exam?

Good luck! I’ve submitted an EOI for NSW too, I would prefer Queensland but am starting to give up hope that they will ever reopen state nomination to offshore candidates I also submitted a hopeless 189 EoI (75points), but can’t see that going anywhere!

Oh that’s frustrating, jealous that you’re already over there though!

Hi Dean How are you are getting on with it all? I’m tearing my hair out waiting for QLD to reopen to offshore applicants, but I did email Queensland Health the other day to ask about sponsorship - the said the consider it on a case-by-case basis, and advised if I see a job advertised that I contact the names person to see if sponsorship is a possibility for that post. I stuck an EoI in for NSW the other week, as figured I’d rather be north NSW than the East Midlands

Sounds like it’s all happened fairly fast for you @Searchingforsun good luck with the final leg of it!

Ahhhhh that’s exciting! Have you got a move date that you are aiming for, or will you just go as soon as the visa is granted?

Where is everyone at in the process? I’m a mental health nurse with 75 points, waiting (im)patiently for Queensland to reopen the nomination to offshore applicants so I can claim an extra 5 points. it seems things are gearing up again with several states allowing offshore nomination, but Queensland is holding the line

That’s right isn’t it? I’m looking at my EoI and there is one question about whether you want to include your partner in a future application and one about family members. I read that as being two separate things...... hope I’m right!!!

Yes I have wondered about NSW. The main thing that attracted me to QLD was the lifestyle, and in part that was due to house prices, but that has changed quite a lot sincere I first started plotting this move. I think I would like the option of Brisbane though if the coastal towns end up being too laid back, whereas if I was in NSW I couldn't afford Sydney.

Yep I feel your pain with the delayed responses, very frustrating. I also recently discovered QLD stipulate you have to have been in full time work for 6 months before submitting your EoI. I’ve only returned to full time work since November, was previously 3 days a week due to childcare (children are 6 and 2). I emailed them to ask if there were allowances for applicants who were part time due to childcare as this is fairly normal to avoid policies which cause indirect discrimination, eg part time but 2 years worth of work, they emailed me back and said I could have multiple part time jobs but it had to total 35hrs. So I can’t submit my EoI until 1st May, hopefully they might have reviewed offshore applicants by then! Good luck with your plans, hopefully things will start moving now......

I’m in a similar situation, nurse with 75 points wanting to submit an offshore EoI for Queensland. I started considering submitting one for NSW too, but have decided to hold fire and see what the outcome of Queensland’s review of offshore applicants is (their website says it will be reviewed December 2021 so hoping for an imminent announcement). We have two young children so for us it’s better to wait and get it right rather than rush just for the sake of getting over there. Although having never been to Australia before I’m not sure why I’m so certain Queensland is the state for me!

Well that all sounds very positive, nice start to the new year I’m still waiting for Queensland to start offshore nominations again, starting to lose the will to live and contemplating going for NSW instead now that’s a possibility got my heart set on the Sunshine Coast though! Have you decided between Vic/WA yet?

Does this mean the English test went well and you’ve had your skills assessment back? I looked into sponsorship but was put off by the fact you have to pay school fees (apart from in Queensland I believe). I’m sure there’s more but that was what jumped out to me. Is the recruitment company offering a relocation package? I’m sure I read that WA were offering financial incentives to nurses who relocated there, not sure what the criteria was though.

No, I’m a nurse, but also looking at the 190 option as my points are too meagre for the 189! I want to go to Queensland, however they seem to be taking the longest to start nominating offshore applicants.

Hi again I commented on your other post, but just thought I’d share a link to a really informative thread that I read on here when I was deciding which test to sit: There’s loads of different people discussing their experiences, plus useful resources dotted throughout. It’s a big one though, I chipped away at it a little bit each night to make sure I didn’t miss any amazing tips

Oooops, sorry meant Pearson’s (PTE academic)

I think NSW now ask for 3 years work experience for state nomination. Queensland is currently closed to offshore applicants but is due to be reviewed at the end of the year - I know as I tragically check their migration website every morning waiting for it to reopen Just to weight in to the English exam discussion - I did Peterson with very little revision and scored full marks in each domain. Beforehand, I sat one mock exam to get a sense of my scores and familiarise myself with the format, then bought a ‘bank of questions’ and spent a couple of evenings practicing my weaker areas. Fingers crossed IELTS goes ok for you though, some people seem to find it easier.

Thanks Cal, your set up sounds idyllic and very much what we had in mind, I guess that’s the Australian dream for a lot of British families, particularly in the depths of winter! Sunshine Coast house prices seem astronomical to be honest, we will have an ok deposit as we live in an area of the East Midlands that has seen house prices rise 30% during the pandemic, but still lots of the areas are way out of our range.

Thanks Ramot, that’s really helpful. Are most of the beaches around there patrolled? I’m a nurse (mental health),from my internet research it seems there are a couple of hospital and community mental health teams up there.

Thanks for that info Marisa, reassuring to hear, although will wait to see if anyone else comes along with bull-shark horror stories before I get carried away..... My sister isn’t aware of our plans to emigrate yet!!! We don’t want to tell anyone until we are able to give timeframes and things are more certain, visas seem like a nightmare at the best of times and the pandemic hasn’t helped. My sister has had a rough couple years since arriving in Melbourne, various issues getting a partner visa and needing to do a years post-grad study (while working full time) in order to registered as a teacher. And the lockdowns, obviously! So didn’t want to get her hopes up until we had firm info to give her. I have the Sunshine Coast in mind because I liked the sound of the the sun-tropical climate, national parks, beaches and the fact that it seemed less developed/more laid back than other bits of the coast. I guess it’s one of those things that you can’t know for sure until you’ve explored, and we might find we prefer NSW. However, due to visa points I’ll have to stake my colours to the 190 mast and take a bit of a punt.

Maybe it’s familiarity. To use the kerb analogy, precautions are second nature as I do it so often (look, listen, don’t step out between cars etc), whereas the precautions around crocs/sharks/jellyfish are so unfamiliar they seem bigger somehow.

Just got off the phone with my sister who lives in Melbourne and am now having a bit of a wobble..... She said it’s not safe to go in the water in most places in QLD, mentioned the bullsharks in the waterways, loads of crocs, jelly fish etc.... she had been planing to move to the Sunshine Coast but said she would never have dared go in the water so ended up staying in Victoria. These are things that I was aware of, but maybe I minimised them?!?! Now I’m not sure if I’ve been sucked in by glorious Instagram pictures that ignore the dangers, or whether my sister has just been told too many horror stories and is disproportionately scared! But as the beach culture is a big factor in my planned move I’m now questioning whether I’d ever be able to relax with my kids on the beach!!!!!

I didn’t notice when mine changed to ‘final stage’ but it was just over three weeks from submission to being approved, this was mid September.