Shayman Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Hi My long term girlfriend and I are both qualified accountants who are planning to submit an EOI for a joint skilled visa prior to July 1st. Before this at least one of us will have to have a completed skills assessment and be able to prove English language capability. By default our UK passports would have us accepted at a 'competent' level, but no extra skill points would be awarded for this. On this last note I am stuck in two minds over the IELTS test. While I see that successful completion with high scores would provide up to 20 extra points for our visa application, it seems ridiculous that we should have to fork out £150 to prove that we both possess good English skills when we have A levels in English Language, Economics and Law Degrees from respected universities and have both successfully completed professional accounting qualifications. Is there any common-sense way around this to still be able to claim the extra points but without having to throw away £150? If not, but taking the tests could affect whether our application was successful or not, we would just have to bite the bullet...but it is an expense we'd rather do without. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Nope, it is ridiculous, but that's the only way of getting the extra points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shayman Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 That's a shame but thanks for your reply. If we were to decide not to take the tests, and the results of our full application came back at 5/10 points short of 60, could we then do the tests and attach the results to our existing application to move above the threshold? And finally...do the IELTS results have to be attached when applying for the professional skills assessment (which in my case will be from CPA Australia) or are they added to the visa application after this stage? The reason I ask is it would be quicker to get both bits completed separately (because of the time lag to book the IELTS test and receive back the results 13 days later, when all the while I could be getting all of the paperwork sorted out for CPA). Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozmaniac Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 For skills assessment as an accountant, you must have Academic IELTS results showing Proficient English (all 7s). Everyone, regardless of their citizenship and academic background must do the test and there is no way around it. If you don't do the test, you won't get a positive skills assessment and without that, you can't even submit an EOI. If we were to decide not to take the tests, and the results of our full application came back at 5/10 points short, could we then do the tests and attach the results to our existing application to move above the threshold? Regards Apart from the fact that an Accountant MUST do IELTS for skills assessment purposes and you therefore CAN'T decide not to take the test, if anyone claims points on an EOI, gets an invitation based on those points and then lodges a visa application which is found to fall short of the claimed points, their visa application is automatically refused AND they lose their VAC. Once an invitation is received, it's too late to make up any shortfall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shayman Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 Thanks for clarifying. On the IELTS website it gives two test options: IELTS Academic – Institutions of Higher and Further Education The Academic format is, broadly speaking, for those who want to study or train in an English-speaking university or Institutions of Higher and Further Education. Admission to undergraduate and postgraduate courses is based on the results of the Academic test. IELTS Academic may also be a requirement to join a professional organisation in an English-speaking country. General Training – for school, work or migration The General Training format focuses on general survival skills in broad social and workplace contexts. It is typically for those who are going to English-speaking countries to do secondary education, work experience or training programs. People migrating to Australia, Canada and New Zealand must sit the General Training test. ...I was a bit confused as to which would apply to my situation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2bpepperrogers Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I did the academic one- same cost but covers more bases than the general training one, then if somewhere down the line I need it for work (teacher) then I have the higher level one. I got 8s and 9s (5 a levels - 2:1 - masters - pgce - teaching for 6 yrs) and it gave us the extra points we needed for our visa. My wife didn't do hers as she is on my visa so no need to do separate skills assessment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 If you are applying as an accountant then you need to do the academic one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Hi My long term girlfriend and I are both qualified accountants who are planning to submit an EOI for a joint skilled visa prior to July 1st. Before this at least one of us will have to have a completed skills assessment and be able to prove English language capability. By default our UK passports would have us accepted at a 'competent' level, but no extra skill points would be awarded for this. On this last note I am stuck in two minds over the IELTS test. While I see that successful completion with high scores would provide up to 20 extra points for our visa application, it seems ridiculous that we should have to fork out £150 to prove that we both possess good English skills when we have A levels in English Language, Economics and Law Degrees from respected universities and have both successfully completed professional accounting qualifications. Is there any common-sense way around this to still be able to claim the extra points but without having to throw away £150? If not, but taking the tests could affect whether our application was successful or not, we would just have to bite the bullet...but it is an expense we'd rather do without. Apart from the fact that you need to take IELTS for accountant skills assessment, IELTS is an absolute gift to a native English speaker. In fact I sometimes wonder if Australia is subtlety but deliberately trying to make things easier for the native English speaker. If you don't want to take a simple literacy test, then take a PHD instead, they offer the same points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzywills Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 No way round it. You have to do IELTS Academic and achieve level 7 in every module for a successful skills assessment by CPA. We've just done it with them. You have to send them proof of your IELTS result when you apply for your migration skills assessment. You also need to send CPA proof of your accountancy qualifications - this means full exam transcripts for all the papers you sat, plus membership certificates for any accountancy bodies. All must be certified and copied. You also need to make sure that if you were exempt from any papers relating to your accountancy qualifications that you get transcripts for those too (we had a last minute delay as we needed transcripts from CIMA for some papers he sat many years ago which made him exempt from those papers for his ACCA when he did the exams - CPA wanted proof he'd done them) In the event re. IELTS hubby achieved above 7 when he did the test so we secured the extra 20 points and applied for a 189 with 65 points. See my timeline. Any Qs happy to help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shayman Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 Thanks Lizzy, I have had email contact with CPA over transcripts etc which suggested they're pretty keen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzywills Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Welcome! It took CPA 4 weeks to process our assessment including the delay re. CIMA transcript. Best thing to do is get yourself booked onto your nearest IELTS Academic test, and in the meantime gather all the paperwork for CPA. And although you're highly proficient in English, I do recommend familiarising yourself with the format. There's free draft Academic tests on the IELTS site here (and answer sheets for after!). http://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/prepare-test/free-practice-tests Both hubby and I did these to the set time limits etc for each paper. Sometimes the Qs can be worded to catch you out! But I'm sure you'll do just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levi Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 For skills assessment as an accountant, you must have Academic IELTS results showing Proficient English (all 7s). Everyone, regardless of their citizenship and academic background must do the test and there is no way around it. If you don't do the test, you won't get a positive skills assessment and without that, you can't even submit an EOI. Apart from the fact that an Accountant MUST do IELTS for skills assessment purposes and you therefore CAN'T decide not to take the test, if anyone claims points on an EOI, gets an invitation based on those points and then lodges a visa application which is found to fall short of the claimed points, their visa application is automatically refused AND they lose their VAC. Once an invitation is received, it's too late to make up any shortfall. Hot diggity, very well said Ozmaniac! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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