Am I missing anything on my visa checklist??

Squeakf99

Hey folks,

I want to know if I am missing anything for my 190 visa application.

Myself and my boyfriend are in Brisbane since July on WHVs and want to apply for permanent residence. The only route to do this that I have been able to find is to get state nominated skilled migration visa from the state of Victoria (190). I am doing the application on my own and at the moment I've lodged by skills assessment with Vetassesss.'

I've put together a checklist for the application.

What I need:
Skills assessment from vetassess as Life scientist Nec
60 points; 30 for age, 10 IELTS (incomplete hoping for score of 7), 20 PhD, 5 Victoria state nomination (inomplete)

So in order I:

1) Apply for skills assessment vetassess 12 weeks
2) Take IELTS to gain at least score of 7 for 10 points 2-3 weeks
3) Apply for Victoria state nomination when have 1) and 2) complete 2 weeks
4) Lodge an EOI through SkillSelect when 3) complete, selecting Victoria as my preference, and notify Victoria of this.
5) Receive invitation, if occupation ceiling not already reached
6) Lodge application with Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP)

Please let me know if I m missing anything!!

mikesp

If English is your first language and you have an academic background I'm quite sure you'd get at least an 8 on the IELTS if you prepare it for 2-3 weeks as you mentioned. Prepare it following guides - how to write the essay for IELTS, not an essay in general, and practice the reading/listening. In the speaking practice how to answer their typical questions, spot when they are asking for conditional answers, etc. And don't forget you are talking to an examiner, not a friend, use proper English.

You don't need to wait until Vetasses is finished to do your IELTS, especially if you reckon they'll give you a positive assessment. IIRC the IELTS results are released 2 or 3 weeks after the exam, so if you wait to take the exam (and prepare it) until you get Vetasses... that'd delay things more than a month, and being December you don't have any time to waste.

The 2 weeks to get Victoria nomination are quite optimistic. Some cases sure get it that quick (Doctors do!) but the average is closer to 12 weeks, or it used to be some months ago at least.

To prevent disappointments, don't assume that the nomination is going to happen for sure. The fact that you may meet all the requirements and your profession is on the list doesn't grant you the invitation straight away.


Apart from that, the list is grand!

Good luck!!

Squeakf99

Hi, thanks for the response. You're definitely right about getting the IELTS done soon, I will book it for the start of January as soon as I know what city I will be in as I am probably moving over xmas. With long work hours, organising a move looking a new job etc. I'm afraid to book it before xmas in case I can't fit it time to study enough to get a good score.

I have a PhD so it does say on the website that I should get it in two weeks. It's my only real option so it's very hard not to get my hopes up!

If I do get the state nomination doe you know how long it takes after submitting an EOI to get your visa?
Thanks, I probably need the luck!!

Sundy

After you submit the EOI you get invited to apply. The invitations are from memory the 2nd and 4th monday of the month (could be 1st & 3rd, cant remember)

After that once you have uploaded all your docs it seems to take an average of about 65 days.

Squeakf99

Thanks Sundy, my WHV runs out in July and if I don't get this visa I will need to do regional work for 12 weeks so I really hope I find out before mid-April. Is the invitation to apply after submitting the EOI immediate and once you have that are you guaranteed the visa?

Sundy

Yeah you should have enough time but I'd advise to get on it and do everything without delay, ie don't waste time.

Thing that you will need which take time and effort:
You and partner:
Police clearance for any country you have been in over 12 months. (you and partner)
Birth Certs
Form80 - you can wait till they ask for this or load it up at the start but its good to have it ready to go. can take some time to get the information together.

Main applicant:
Proof of work experience (payslips, bank statements, tax certs, contracts, offer letters, references). These are not optional especially the proof of payment.
IELTS. Get it done asap. It could take up to 2 months from time of booking the test to getting your results depending on demand. I've seen tests in Perth booked out for 6 weeks or more. Also get some help. A IELTs tutor will tell you exactly what tehy want and make the test a piece of piss for you. Its basically like ticking boxes if you know what to do.
Qualifications - Certs & transcripts of all qualifications

Also for immigration, color scans of documents will do fine, only black and white documents need to be certified.

You are unfortunately never guaranteed a visa. An invitation to apply is only that, an invitation. A case officer then asses you application and decides if you qualify.

Squeakf99

This info is really helpful. I have a lot of the documents already together for the vetassess assessment but I don't have police clearance and birth certs. I also don't have tax certs but I will get them just in case.

There are still bookings available for IELTS in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne on 10th Jan so as soon as I know where I will be I will book the test before these are booked out. I just contact them to see if was possible to change the location after booking and I was told that they don't offer transfers.

Do I need a medical too? I see mention of it a lot but not on any of the official websites

Sundy

Squeakf99 wrote: »

This info is really helpful. I have a lot of the documents already together for the vetassess assessment but I don't have police clearance and birth certs. I also don't have tax certs but I will get them just in case.

There are still bookings available for IELTS in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne on 10th Jan so as soon as I know where I will be I will book the test before these are booked out. I just contact them to see if was possible to change the location after booking and I was told that they don't offer transfers.

Do I need a medical too? I see mention of it a lot but not on any of the official websites

If you have other evidence you may not need the tax certs.

Only do the IELTS then if you will have time to prep before it. As I said its worth doing a session with a tutor. Most don't but as there is loads of help online, however I found it made things real easy for me.

Yes you and your partner will need medicals. You can get a HAP ID and do them before you submit your application.
https://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/health-requirements/arranging-health-exam.htm

Squeakf99

So, from this website I see that I only do the medical after being requested to do so after submitting my EOI. Do you know if I once requested for the medical am I sure I have the visa or is this a step required before being granted the visa?

If my visa comes doesn't come through in time I can get a bridging visa and so can my partner. Do you know if both of us can work as per out previous visa, WHV. As far as I understand the conditions of your original visa are in place during a bridging visa

mikesp

Squeakf99 wrote: »

Do you know if I once requested for the medical am I sure I have the visa or is this a step required before being granted the visa?

You'll only need to do the medicals after lodging the visa, don't worry about it yet.
There is not such a thing as "being able to be sure about getting the visa" until you get the visa unfortunately. Everything could be going great, even after they request the medicals... then they find out that you lack some solid proof about the de-facto thing, and you are screwed...

I'm not sure if it was mentioned before: you'll need to prove that you and your partner are a de-facto couple, ie: have been living together (in a day-to-day basis) for a year. Whatever time you might have spend together while traveling might not be considered valid.

Things that would help you prove that: having a joint bank account, having 1 year worth of bills posted to a common address (1 year of phone bills for each, electricity, etc), ... do a Google search and you'll find more things.

Good luck.