Accountant - EOI points dropping from 70 to 65 as result of age

[GKatherine]

Morning, hoping somebody can provide some insight please, not sure I am understanding this process....

 

We submitted an EOI on 2 August with my hubby as main applicant with 70 points. His birthday is coming up before the next EOI invitation round, putting him in the next age category, 5 points less, thus 65 points.  From the website (http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Work/Skil/3-august-2016-round-results), if I understand it correctly, accountants are now selected from 20 June 2016 with minimum 70 points.  This is still 3 August's data, but new data is not yet available.  

 

Does this mean we missed it now?  Should we work on Plan B to get back to 70 points?  I can have my skills accredited and write the English exam for the 5 spousal points. Thoughts?  Experience?

[CyberJoe]

Hi @GKatherine!

 

As far as I can tell, you will wait quite a while if you want a 189 Visa since as you mentioned, they want 70 points to issue an invitation for that. However, if you apply for state sponsorship it will give you an additional 5 points that will keep you at 70 points even after your husbands birthday.

 

Think you should also ask @JoVincent and @RedPanda if they could perhaps shed some light on what the current accountant situation is, perhaps they have read a bit more in this area. Good luck with the investigation, really holding thumbs for you!

 

Ps: Also take a look at this thread and perhaps ask in there. Seems to be quite a number of accountants that waited for their ITA's.

 

Edited August 20, 2016 by CyberJoe

[RedPanda]

4 hours ago, CyberJoe said:

Think you should also ask @JoVincent and @RedPanda if they could perhaps shed some light on what the current accountant situation is, perhaps they have read a bit more in this area. Good luck with the investigation, really holding thumbs for you!

 

I'm sorry to say in this instance I know nothing. Since it is a time critical thing, I would actually suggest you PM either @TeeTMI or @SD_MOA and ask them directly. (registered agents have to know how it works, and these two are kind enough to share their expertise with the SAA community)

[TeeTMI]

On 19/08/2016 at 6:24 PM, GKatherine said:

Morning, hoping somebody can provide some insight please, not sure I am understanding this process....

 

We submitted an EOI on 2 August with my hubby as main applicant with 70 points. His birthday is coming up before the next EOI invitation round, putting him in the next age category, 5 points less, thus 65 points.  From the website (http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Work/Skil/3-august-2016-round-results), if I understand it correctly, accountants are now selected from 20 June 2016 with minimum 70 points.  This is still 3 August's data, but new data is not yet available.  

 

Does this mean we missed it now?  Should we work on Plan B to get back to 70 points?  I can have my skills accredited and write the English exam for the 5 spousal points. Thoughts?  Experience?

 

The round after the 3rd August was the 17th - and yes if you have not heard by now then you were not invited.  The next round is the 31st August.

 

I would agree that you look back to aiming for 70 points - your partner points, or potentially look at state sponsorship? (English if you can get more points?)

 

 

[JoVincent]

Hi @GKatherine, yes the points threshold is definitely still 70 points. We were told by our agent that this would be the minimum we would require to get an invitation currently. Luckily my husband had 75 points and we got our invite very quickly, but I saw from others experience that they had 70 points and were still waiting or it took a few months. So based on that, I would definitely say to get your skill assessed to get the extra 5 points. It will cost you more, but absolutely worth it in my view if it means an invite.

 

As to the timing of your EOI being lodged and the birthday then changing the points, I don't know how this works, an agent would need to confirm. But if you can see on the system that points have dropped then that's that. I haven't even seen what the Immi accounts look like etc, as we have an agent doing it on our behalf.

 

All the best - will be hoping that all goes well with your skills assessment and you get that invite soon  

[GKatherine]

Thanks all for the feedback. I started to get all my things ready for my skills assessment in order to get the spousal points. But now it seems that you can only get the spousal points if my nominated skill is on the SOL? Mine is on the CSOL so apparently it does not count towards the spousal points. Can somebody perhaps confirm this please?

[RedPanda]

Is there any chance for you to try state nomination? (Obviously the validity of this option for you depends on your personal circumstances)

[GKatherine]

Hi @RedPanda, we are looking into that as an option.  My husband also submitted an EOI for state nomination, in which case he still has the 70 points.  Not sure though if state sponsorship requires 75 points since you get the 5 points if you apply for the 190.  I must say, I am super confused with all the options! But I guess, so is everybody at the beginning of the process.

[JoVincent]

@GKatherine it is definitely confusing!! Unfortunately I don't have the answers for you, I also found the various options quite confusing, luckily we had enough points and went with 189. 

 

@TeeTMI can you perhaps give @GKatherine some guidance on their options? Is the points theshold (if any) for accountants on the 190 visa also 70 points? 

[SD_MOA]

Hello Guys,

The only real option currently for a SC190 for an Accountant is NSW.  You need to be invited to apply for state sponsorship from NSW and they invite those with the higher scores in the same way as DIBP do.  Having said that there is no harm in updating your EOI for a SC190  from NSW as there is no cost for this and it does not harm your chances of being invited for a SC189.

 

I hope this helps!

 

Regards

[GKatherine]

Hi @SD_MOA, thanks.  I checked with my husband and he did submit an EOI for both 189 and 190.  We are taking a different approach now.  I submitted my skills assessment, and then we will both do the English test.  Hopefully he will score better (had some issues with the verbal in Pearson), and that will give us a points jump.  Thanks for the feedback.

[JoVincent]

@GKatherine would definitely recommend the Pearson as a means of extra points, it adds hugely if he can manage 79 or above on each section (think it's worth 20 points). There are loads of threads on the subject - but definitely use the Gold package as preparation.

 

good luck!

[GKatherine]

Tx @JoVincent.  He did use the Gold Package last time.  Scored high 80s or 90s in everything except the speaking.  If he can get that right, we should be good to go!

[JoVincent]

It seems a lot of people have the same problem - high scores all around except for speaking when it comes to Pearsons. It seems the computer technology doesn't do well with accents. Could always try IELTS as it would then be a person marking you on your speaking. However it does seem like Pearsons is easier to score higher on the remaining sections.

 

All the best to him for the next attempt (and you), I'm sure this time will do the trick! My husband also wrote twice. Seems to be a rite of passage on this visa journey ?

[loucatpayne]

In my experience the Pearson test doesn't only have difficulty with accents but also with the way South Africans pronounce certain every day words compared to how the British would.  Logically it seems like an easy test but in reality it is difficult and then throw in the time pressure.  Not easy especially if you are nervous or have to rewrite. But the only way is to keep on trying.

[Husky]

@GKatherine

We are also hoping to apply for a 190. My husband is the main applicant and mainly because we get no points for age, he had to get superior English results and I had to do both the English test and do the skills assessment. My occupation is also only on the CSOL and not on the SOL. It doesn't matter for the secondary applicant as far as I understand. 

Good luck.

[GKatherine]

Hi @Husky, thanks for the feedback.  And good luck to you too!