Very green but very excited to get things started!

[Guest MarK Jowett]

Hi guys

 

Just wanted to say a quick hello. My friend who immigrated to Adelaide a few years ago advised me to sign up to this forum as I too am now looking to apply.

 

A quick background on our situation for those who are interested:

 

Me, 31, IT Professional (probably going to go for SS as Systems Administrator) with IT based Degree and 9 years IT experience

Missus, 22, Nursery Assistant.

 

I'm going to do a good bit of research on all of this, but any advice would be welcome from all you lovely people, and in return i'll be sure to sing your praises!

 

We have only just made the decision to move, and haven't started anything yet, although i've been advised to get my skills certified first by the ACS (Australian Computer Society). If anyone's done this with ACS and can advise me on any time saving tips etc i'd be much obliged.

 

I see everyone has their progress charted in their SIGs and i'll do the same as soon as i've worked out what all the acronyms mean

 

Really looking forward to starting the process and hopefully getting to know a few of you along the way! I absolutely love Oz having travelled there for a year, and I fell in love with Adelaide when I visted my friends again last year.

[Riponian]

We used and agent as my husband was self employed and lots of his jobs were government based so had to get 14-15 refs over a 7year period or something mad like that. He could not get a lot of these references from the client but from the agency who hired him for that roll. Hope that makes sense

Once he had all those they were sent to ACS and it was really straight forward process, if you want any more specific info then ask.

 

If your OH is planning on working as a nursery nurse it might be harder to get her a job than you. I would check out her qualifications and if they are recognised here. I know people who have come out on that skill and got their visa but could not get a job in that field. I don't know the specifics but thought I would mention it to make sure you don't overlook that.

 

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

 

Michelle

[Guest pixie7]

Hi welcome to the site. Im a teacher (nursery-year6) and OH is in IT systems admin same as you. We went for SS through me as it was more straight forwards for us. We didnt use an agent and havent struggled (yet!!).

 

I would advise you to read DIAC website about 176 and check all the conditions etc.

 

Then get skills assessment started- I needed a transcript from uni for skills assessment and visa which took a few weeks to get - I would advise you to get this quick as some uni's dont offer this service over summer hols(!)

 

References- as many as you can, make sure they cover the last 3/4 years if you are claiming specific work experience points on your visa. Also ask them to include your 5 main duties/responsibilities and name your position (need this info for the visa)

 

Start gathering tax returns/payslips/contracts as many as possible!

 

If you need help for the SS give me a shout (PM me ) and I'll send you our form.

 

Good luck and dont hesitate to ask for help/support

[Guest pixie7]

OO sorry to go on but just remembered about IELTS- if you need it I would advise you to revise! Check out Poms in Oz as well there are lots of posts about it. Start looking at booking it asap because often takes a few weeks to book.

[Guest MarK Jowett]

Wow, thanks for the quick replies guys, i'm sure i'm going to be pestering you loads over the next few months (sorry in advance )

 

The IELTS thing - i've checked and I don't think i'll necessarily need the points, however my english is pretty good so I suppose it would be worth doing just to get the extra points??

 

I will get on to my university on Monday then - I assume there will be a charge for forwarding them to me (the first of many!)

 

I used the 'visa wizard' on the DIAC website to see which visa to apply for and it also gave me the option of the Skilled Independent visa - would you say i'm better off going for this one or sticking with the SS one?

 

Also, on the SA website regarding money in your pocket - there were several different figures quoted for how much you need to show in your bank before being accepted. Can anyone clarify how much we will need for me and my partner?

 

My head is literally at busting point at the moment - and i'm already overly thankful for your help

 

Thanks

 

Mark

[Guest MarK Jowett]

I think it should be ok with regards my references for work purposes as i've been a FTE in just two different organisations in the last 8 years.

 

Louise, my partner, is still working towards her qualifications as a nursery nurse, however I don't think she'll be that bothered about carrying on that occupation when (if) we get to Oz.

[Guest pixie7]

Yeah it might be worth IELTS up to you really.

As far as whether to go for 175 or 176 I would say 176 as its quicker but only if you're sure you want to live in Adelaide as you have to stay for 2 years (i beleive thewy arent that strict on this its more of a moral obligation but for us we will be staying in Adelaide for the correct time) Take a look at our time frame on bottom of my post and you can see how quickly everything can happen and really we got have sped things up by getting meds and Police checks quicker (front loading= meds and PC's at time of visa submission)

 

As for uni's charging I had to get 2 transcript from 2 different uni's one charged £25 and the other didnt charge??!

 

For SS they ask on the form for you to confirm how much you will have to take into country but you dont have to prove it (they give you a figure depending on the amount of dependents- check SA immigration website http://www.migration.sa.gov.au/sa/immigrate_from_overseas/visa_options/gen_skill3/criteria_for_state_spons.jsp#Number_11

 

Good luck, remember take it one stage at a time- skills assessment first!

[HEAPS GOOD !!!]

Hi guys

 

Just wanted to say a quick hello. My friend who immigrated to Adelaide a few years ago advised me to sign up to this forum as I too am now looking to apply.

 

A quick background on our situation for those who are interested:

 

Me, 31, IT Professional (probably going to go for SS as Systems Administrator) with IT based Degree and 9 years IT experience

Missus, 22, Nursery Assistant.

 

I'm going to do a good bit of research on all of this, but any advice would be welcome from all you lovely people, and in return i'll be sure to sing your praises!

 

We have only just made the decision to move, and haven't started anything yet, although i've been advised to get my skills certified first by the ACS (Australian Computer Society). If anyone's done this with ACS and can advise me on any time saving tips etc i'd be much obliged.

 

I see everyone has their progress charted in their SIGs and i'll do the same as soon as i've worked out what all the acronyms mean

 

Really looking forward to starting the process and hopefully getting to know a few of you along the way! I absolutely love Oz having travelled there for a year, and I fell in love with Adelaide when I visted my friends again last year.

 

 

Good luck with it all, if you get stuck and dnt know what to do just chuck a post on here, this place is a wealth of info with some very VISA knowing members on board we used this place and another forum for everything to do with our VISA some 4 years or so ago, and never used an agent.

 

 

We had to goto court for me to get PR of better halves kids, then get her ex to basically relinquish his PR to me it can be done without an agent and you can save yourself a heap of cash too....

 

Enjoy the forum, the only stoopid question is the one that never gets asked...so ask ask ask away

 

just hold tight, it can be one hell of a ride.

 

 

HG

[Guest MarK Jowett]

Thanks for the encouragement Heapsgood

 

Just spoke to my uni who are going to charge me £50 to get my transcripts - I should get used to being bent over I guess

 

Just gotta keep remembering why we're starting this adventure!