Roof Plumber - 189 Visa

[PomCop]

Hi all,

 

I came across your forum after searching a few things on Google and I have to say, it's very good! There seems to be quite a few knowledgeable people on this forum.

 

In the next month or so, I intend of submitting my skills assessment to Trades Recognition Australia (TRA). My profession is Roof Plumbing & I have been doing this for 5 years now, but I can only probably document this for 3 3/4 years.

 

I've seen that gaining the skills assessment is one of the most difficult parts of the visa process. But another thing that worries me is the points for the visa. Let me break it down:

Age (21 years) - 25 points

English language ability - 20 points (should I get Grade 8 in IELTS)

Skilled employment - 5 points for 3 - 5 years

Qualifications - 10 points

 

Total: 60 points

 

For the 189 Skilled Independent Visa I need a minimum of 60 points, but I need to score a Grade 8 in IELTS to ensure I get those 20 points for my English Language Ability.

 

Can anyone advise me on the IELTS and how difficult it would be to achieve a Grade 8 in each module? I'm from England, UK and obviously a native English speaker. I intend on putting as much revision into the exam as possible.

 

I have also wondered if it is worth getting an agent to assist with my application? This would cost me just under £2k for the agent that I wish to use (good reviews and highly recommended) but, I have seen that a 189 visa is fairly straight forward if you read up on it.

 

I'm 21 years old, have no dependants or anything that would make the application more difficult.

 

Any hints and tips?

 

Thanks :-)

[PomCop]

Not quite sure what's happened with the formatting. I can't seem to edit it either.

[Ozmaniac]

The mod fairies have fixed the formatting for you - apologies if it's not as colourful as you intended but it's easier to read now.

[PomCop]

Haha. I'm not quite sure what happened. I'm on my iPhone you see!

[Ozmaniac]

You may not be able to claim points for 3-5 years experience - as a general rule, work experience must be post qualification. When did you qualify?

[PomCop]

I qualified in April 2012, giving me 3 years post qualification experience.

[Impasse]

It's difficult to say how hard you'll find it to get a grade 8 in the IELTS, without knowing how good your reading/writing skills are. There's not a lot of wriggle room - I think 4 wrong answers in the reading or listening test will drop you to a 7.5, so you've got to be on your game.

 

I used ieltspractice.com to get some practice in - it's not free but it included a lot of sample tests which did give me some confidence that I knew exactly what to expect in the real test. Having said that, the native speakers in my exam all exchanged a glance when the listening test was over because it went off at a speed and complexity none of us were expecting, so perhaps no amount of sample tests can really prepare you entirely! What the foreign examinees must have made of it I can't imagine.

 

There are some free sample resources on the British Council site, too and listening to the tutors' videos was useful. Not least since one of the guys taking the test the same day as me was doing a retake, since although he'd scored a 9 in three parts of the test he'd only got a 6.5 in the written part and his message was that even if you're a native speaker you need to understand what it is that they're going to be looking for in the written test; you can't just turn up on the day and hope to busk it. It wasn't much good telling us that as we were queuing to get in, but I pass it on to you early enough to do some good, I hope!

 

Re: the agent... depends how confident you're feeling. I didn't use an agent, I did all the work myself and it's quite hard to see how a fee of £2000 can be justified, since most of the work of collating the documentation is still going to have to be done by you anyway.

 

NB I haven't got my visa yet so I should probably wait to see if I'm successful before I give advice on how easy the application was to do

[PomCop]

It's difficult to say how hard you'll find it to get a grade 8 in the IELTS, without knowing how good your reading/writing skills are. There's not a lot of wriggle room - I think 4 wrong answers in the reading or listening test will drop you to a 7.5, so you've got to be on your game.

 

I used ieltspractice.com to get some practice in - it's not free but it included a lot of sample tests which did give me some confidence that I knew exactly what to expect in the real test. Having said that, the native speakers in my exam all exchanged a glance when the listening test was over because it went off at a speed and complexity none of us were expecting, so perhaps no amount of sample tests can really prepare you entirely! What the foreign examinees must have made of it I can't imagine.

 

There are some free sample resources on the British Council site, too and listening to the tutors' videos was useful. Not least since one of the guys taking the test the same day as me was doing a retake, since although he'd scored a 9 in three parts of the test he'd only got a 6.5 in the written part and his message was that even if you're a native speaker you need to understand what it is that they're going to be looking for in the written test; you can't just turn up on the day and hope to busk it. It wasn't much good telling us that as we were queuing to get in, but I pass it on to you early enough to do some good, I hope!

 

Re: the agent... depends how confident you're feeling. I didn't use an agent, I did all the work myself and it's quite hard to see how a fee of £2000 can be justified, since most of the work of collating the documentation is still going to have to be done by you anyway.

 

NB I haven't got my visa yet so I should probably wait to see if I'm successful before I give advice on how easy the application was to do

 

Excellent reply! Thank you.

 

I'm currently just looking over my skills assessment for TRA. Has anyone else had experience with these of late?

[PomCop]

I've done some research into the skills assessment for the TRA. As I am self employed, I believe I only need to provide the documentation that I have highlighted in bold red. Can anyone advise further?

 

B Paid Employment

Employment is considered to be paid when an employer pays you wagescommensurate with the skill level required for the employment undertaken. If you areself-employed, employment is considered paid if you charge fees commensurate withthe skill level required for the services you provide.

TRA requires sufficient evidence of paid employment to verify that your employmentwas full-time (or equivalent part-time) and at the required skill level for youroccupation in Australia.

TRA will require at least one primary source of evidence or a minimum of twosecondary sources of evidence for each year and each period of employmentbeing claimed. Additional evidence may also be requested.

 

Primary sources of evidence may include:

 

 

•  Tax records that cite the name of the applicant and the employer
  
   
  
•  Annual payment summaries/Group certificates that cite the name of theapplicant and the employer
  
• 
   Pay slips that include the name of the employer, commencement date of theemployment and year to date income information
  
• 
  
•  Superannuation documents that cite the name of the applicant and the nameof the employer
  
  

 

 



Annual/company returns (for self-employed applicants) with an accompanyingaccountant statement

 

Secondary sources of evidence may include:

 

 

•  Pay slips (without details of commencement date or year to date incomeinformation)
  
   
  
•  Advice regarding wages paid in an employer statement (in accordance withSection 2.8.6)
  
   
  
•  A certified statement from your registered/certified accountant.
  
   
  
•  Letters from taxation offices that do not contain the name of the employer
  
  

 

 

 Bank statements showing income deposited from employment.

 

You may wish to provide other evidence to substantiate your claims of paidemployment.

 

 

 

 

Cheers!!