Moving on a skilled visa

[Ausvisitor]

1 hour ago, DukeNinja said:

If you have a straightforward application, IE, no criminal convictions, no significant health issues etc, then there's no harm in applying yourself, provided you are meticulous about the process.

If you're needing a high language test score to give you the required total points, I would look into preparing and doing that first.

Good luck.

This is good advice, I didn't pass my first English test (well I passed but not well enough) despite having lived in the UK for forty years (except for 3 in Canada in my thirties) and having a master's in English Language degree.

So don't just assume getting full marks on the English assessment is a guarantee

[Adventure2020]

1 minute ago, Ausvisitor said:

This is good advice, I didn't pass my first English test (well I passed but not well enough) despite having lived in the UK for forty years (except for 3 in Canada in my thirties) and having a master's in English Language degree.

So don't just assume getting full marks on the English assessment is a guarantee

Is there a specific website you go to in order to complete the English exam? I completed the overall skills assessment and thought that was enough. I didn’t know you had to do a whole other language assessment

[Ausvisitor]

1 minute ago, Adventure2020 said:

Is there a specific website you go to in order to complete the English exam? I completed the overall skills assessment and thought that was enough. I didn’t know you had to do a whole other language assessment

Did you claim any points for English language ability?

You need to be competent in order to qualify to emigrate (if you have a passport from the UK, US, CAN, NZ and a couple of others you are considered competent)

Competent English carries no points for migration purposes. If you claimed proficiency of superior English you need to back this up with evidence - you need to take an external exam from IELTS or PTE (Google them they are really common - every student studying abroad needs this test also).

Getting a super high score gives you the 20 immigration points that most people are looking for.

 

[Ausvisitor]

5 minutes ago, Adventure2020 said:

Is there a specific website you go to in order to complete the English exam? I completed the overall skills assessment and thought that was enough. I didn’t know you had to do a whole other language assessment

You are going to love the skills assessment process you have to go through to show you are competent in your job as well ... it's essentially another exam/assessment and you can't apply for a visa until you have this completed (well you can but you'll get turned down)

[Adventure2020]

2 minutes ago, Ausvisitor said:

You are going to love the skills assessment process you have to go through to show you are competent in your job as well ... it's essentially another exam/assessment and you can't apply for a visa until you have this completed (well you can but you'll get turned down)

Oh man! More tests ??! Lol more research for me to do! Lol

[Adventure2020]

5 minutes ago, Ausvisitor said:

Did you claim any points for English language ability?

You need to be competent in order to qualify to emigrate (if you have a passport from the UK, US, CAN, NZ and a couple of others you are considered competent)

Competent English carries no points for migration purposes. If you claimed proficiency of superior English you need to back this up with evidence - you need to take an external exam from IELTS or PTE (Google them they are really common - every student studying abroad needs this test also).

Getting a super high score gives you the 20 immigration points that most people are looking for.

 

I didn’t claim oroficiency for superior English (I don’t even Remember seeing that as an option) But I’ll look into the tests online. Thanks so much for that!

[Amber Snowball]

2 hours ago, The Pom Queen said:

Some people use them and some don’t. For us we didn’t want to risk making any errors or mistakes.  It was very very stressful and that was with using an agent I would have hated to do the process alone. If refused you miss the wonderful chance to live here and lose the money you paid for the application 

I’d say use an agent @Adventure2020. The process is so unforgiving now and you can waste valuable time/money getting it wrong or missing things. Make sure the agent is MARA registered. The ones that post on here all are.

So much to do and think about it’s worth the cost sometimes to ‘ buy’ peace of mind.

I migrated 15 years ago and the process was sooooo different then I did the visa application myself without a second thought. It was refused initially but I simply rang them up and told them to check the information on page 2 and sort themselves out! Visa issued! No way that would happen now.

I’m a nurse not a social worker but from memory UK trained SWs don’t need any further training and I think you have to be eligible to apply for membership of their governing body but don’t have to be a member. I think that was correct when I left but do check. From speaking to social workers the system in Aus is quite different and the word ‘backwards’ has been used but I don’t know from personal experience just hearsay. Search the forum there are social worker threads on here definitely!

I have since returned to the UK in 2018 but Australia was good to me and I wouldn’t have what I have now without it. 
Good luck with wherever you decide to go!

[paulhand]

2 hours ago, Amber Snowball said:

So much to do and think about it’s worth the cost sometimes to ‘ buy’ peace of mind.

I migrated 15 years ago and the process was sooooo different then I did the visa application myself without a second thought. It was refused initially but I simply rang them up and told them to check the information on page 2 and sort themselves out! Visa issued! No way that would happen now.

Yep - agreed. When I did it in 1999, the immigration officer at the local embassy actually provided advice on which occupation to use and other helpful hints. Wouldn’t happen any longer ... 

[Marisawright]

7 hours ago, Adventure2020 said:

I get mixed information on websites. Some say you don’t need a migration agent to do the paperwork and some say you do. Any opinions on this? I really appreciate all of this information...thank you sooo much  

In the old days, nobody used an agent.  But then, the application fees were a lot lower and the forms were a lot simpler. Nowadays, I don't think I'd risk not using an agent, personally.  

The problem is that Immigration are very unforgiving.  Make a mistake on your application and they won't come back and ask, "Did you mean....?"  They'll just reject the application and you've wasted all that money. 

[DukeNinja]

19 hours ago, Adventure2020 said:

Is there a specific website you go to in order to complete the English exam? I completed the overall skills assessment and thought that was enough. I didn’t know you had to do a whole other language assessment

What do you mean that you 'completed the overall skills assessment'?

From what I've read thus far of your comments, it appears that you do not seem to have a realistic grasp of the pathway you need to take to end up in Oz.

Do have a search on this forum, there are quite a few social workers who have made the journey and documented their processes - this might give you an idea.

For me it was:

0. If I moved over, will I earn enough to enjoy a similar or better quality of life than I currently enjoy?

1. Is my qualification and job in the skills shortage list?

2. Is my occupation pro-rata?

3. I have enough years of experience as required by the visa conditions?

4. What is the current minimum points required to apply for the visa that I am interested in?

5. What is the current invite points threshold above which people are being invited?

6. Will I need to do the language test to get additional points?

7. Are there any funds requirements, and do I meet them?

8. Can I actually financially pay for the move (cost us approx $30k for a family of 3)

Note that 4 and 5 are not the same thing.

[Ausvisitor]

21 hours ago, Adventure2020 said:

I didn’t claim oroficiency for superior English (I don’t even Remember seeing that as an option) But I’ll look into the tests online. Thanks so much for that!

Can you remember the URL you took your assessment on?

There are litertally hundreds of Australian Immigration calculators, they ask you a series of questions and based on your answers they give you an indication of your theoretical points score.

This is not you qualifying for immigration, this is just an indication that you have the potential to do so and as such should probably look into it some more.

The only way to "qualify" for immigration on a skilled visa is to get a high enough points total to be invited to apply; even then if your health/criminal background and a host of other things aren't "OK" then you'll be denied.

In order to submit an application for immigration assessment you need the following:

1. A career on the wanted list

2. A history of work that matches the Australian definition of skilled for that role (google is your helper here)

3. A confirmed skills assessment of your ability to do the job (this is done by an Australian government organisation) you have to pass this before you can even lodge a request for immigration and is a minimum of 1600 AUD (from memory) to take

4. A whole host of documents and employment proofs 

 

I really think you should have a chat with a migration agent so they can review your eligibility and likelihood to be a migration candidate

[Adventure2020]

4 hours ago, DukeNinja said:

What do you mean that you 'completed the overall skills assessment'?

From what I've read thus far of your comments, it appears that you do not seem to have a realistic grasp of the pathway you need to take to end up in Oz.

Do have a search on this forum, there are quite a few social workers who have made the journey and documented their processes - this might give you an idea.

For me it was:

0. If I moved over, will I earn enough to enjoy a similar or better quality of life than I currently enjoy?

1. Is my qualification and job in the skills shortage list?

2. Is my occupation pro-rata?

3. I have enough years of experience as required by the visa conditions?

4. What is the current minimum points required to apply for the visa that I am interested in?

5. What is the current invite points threshold above which people are being invited?

6. Will I need to do the language test to get additional points?

7. Are there any funds requirements, and do I meet them?

8. Can I actually financially pay for the move (cost us approx $30k for a family of 3)

Note that 4 and 5 are not the same thing.

You are right! I don’t have a really good grasp of things right now and talking to a migration agent is my next step. Thanks so much for all the tips above! I will be going through them with the agent for sure, as I have no idea what pro-rata means lol  I will also see if I can find social workers on this site to speak to. Thanks so much for taking the time to help me with this