Not on SOL anymore.... Help please.

[Briggy]

Hello one and all

I recently discovered that my occupation being a Primary School Teacher 241213 is no longer on the SOL.

I turn 25 on the 6th March and my points will then be:

30-age

10-Ielts marks being 7 or higher

15- degree

5-state sponsorship (once they say yes)

0-experience as only get 3 years at the end of this year.

We are applying for PR on the skilled- nominated visa subclass 190.

Will not being on the SOL have any negative impact on my application for this visa? We had planned to lodge expression of interest day after I turn 25 and then visas should be here May/June and the plan was to leave SA 7th July. I am now very worried that we won't get through.

Or, did I only have to get my qualification assessed by Aitsl to see what it is recognized as in Aus? Then that definitely makes my life less stressful:)

Thank you kindly in advance for all the help and advice you are prepared to give me.

Have a lovely weekend all.

Briggy

[RYLC]

With primary school, it really depends on which phase you are qualified in - early years or senior primary.

For the purposes of AITSL Assessment for Migration an Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teacher is degree qualified to teach children between the ages of 3 and 8 in education programs prior to and in to the early years of Primary School

If you can teach kids aged 3-8, then that will fit for visa 190 and you need to use the code for Early Childhood Teacher. http://www.aitsl.edu...ation_file.docx

If it is senior primary then you're out of luck You can't apply for 190 if the occupation is not on SOL.

[Briggy]

Hi Crisplet

Thanks so much for feedback. My qualification is for foundation phase so early years as you were to say, definitely not senior. Over here in SA I can teach from new born all the way up to age 9.

When I got my occupation assessed from AITSL it came back as Primary Teacher not Pre-Primary, does this make a difference in applying for 190?

Like you mentioned, I can teach children aged from 3-8 so does that also fit the "primary teacher" in Aus?

Thanks again

Briggy

[RYLC]

Briggy

Have a look at the document in my previous post. You need to make sure you applied to AITSL as an Early Childhood teacher. There is no such thing as pre-primary here. You must use the Australian terminology.

If you have been assessed as Primary Teacher then you can't apply for 190 but if you can be reassessed as Early Childhood teacher then you can apply for 190. Perhaps when you applied for assessment you used the Primary Teacher form instead of the Early Childhood one. They will assess you on what you have applied for so if you've used the code and form for primary then that is what they will assess you on. It is not their job to contact you and say hey did you mean the code for early childhood because they are not IMMI and don't know the requirements for all the visas. They just process the applications according to the occupation code nominated by the applicant.

So have a look at the document in my previous post and see if you would "pass" each step and think about whether you should have a different assessment done on a different code. Also phone AITSL and ask them.

Edited January 9, 2015 by Crisplet

[Briggy]

Hello again

I did read the documented you posted and I do qualify for Early. I have just looked at my Aitsl assessment and it says I qualify for te occupation of Primary School Teacher ANZSCO 241213.

I unfortunately never applied for this I had submitted all my documents to our agent and she then submitted it for me. It seems strange though as when my results came back sayin. That I have been nominated as a Prinary School Teacher she was delighted in telling me that we can now lodge expression of interest and an interest in Western Australia.

Do you think she could have applied for wrong occupation as with me being a Prinary Teacher can I not teach ages 3-8?

Thanks

[RYLC]

Yes I think she applied for the wrong occupation because you will not get a VISA. Australia has enough primary school teachers (which is why it is off the SOL). You can only get a visa if you are assessed as Early Childhood Teacher and apply with that specific code. The visa is the first step. Getting a job is a separate matter.

I don't know which agent you used and in the past yes you would have been told to do what she has done. The trouble is that not so long ago Australia has split the "Primary School Teacher" into two distinct occupations with two different codes. Your agent doesn't seem to be up to date with this.

Perhaps contact Stephen or Tee who are migration agents and can give your more of an idea.

http://www.saaustral...r/12753-sd-moa/
http://www.saaustral...r/17492-teetmi/

[Briggy]

Oh goodness me:( ok thanks for your help. It doesn't help that my agent is on leave till 2 week time.

Thanks for Tee's name I have Pm her. Stephen however was last active in 2009 bit I may have got the wrong Stephen:)

I just went into the Aitsl site and see how easily my agent could have applied for Primary as it is right next to the Early years application form

I need to see what's going on here as if she submitted wrong form then surely I shouldn't have to pay for another assessment. We did pay her R30 000 for my husband and I so surely she should be keeping up to date with what's on and no longer on the SOL...

Briggy

[RYLC]

It is the right Stephen if you follow the link I gave you. Last active Dec 2014 when I looked at it.

AITSL will need payment for another assessment. What arrangement you come to with your agent about who pays for it is another matter. All the best.

There have been others on the forum over the years who have had to pay again for the WHOLE visa because a mistake was made so it does happen. At least yours will just be the assessment which is not such a high cost as the whole visa.

[Jordy]

I unfortunately never applied for this I had submitted all my documents to our agent and she then submitted it for me. It seems strange though as when my results came back sayin. That I have been nominated as a Prinary School Teacher she was delighted in telling me that we can now lodge expression of interest and an interest in Western Australia.

So who is your agent and is she MARA registered.

[Mara]

The link for Stephen is SD_MOA

[Briggy]

@Crisplet- I followed your link as I sent the reply and realized I had the wrong one, thank you for both the links. Tee has been helpful so far as have you:) you are 100 percent correct about the mistake. I am grateful that I have realized now before March when we were lodging Everything. It gives me time to submit another application for early years occupation. Then looks like it will only delay lodging EOI by a few weeks which in the big picture is nothing. As we will still be lucky enough to be going over on Pr so very grateful

@Jordy- I am not too sure if she is Mara registered but know she is with a well-known company base in Cape Town. She is from Four Corners , I don't feel giving her name is right. She has been really good so far. I just feel maybe she overlooked this aspect or merely hasn't kept up to date with it all which obviously isn't acceptable if we paying for her service etc.

@Mara- thank you for the link, I have however found it through the link Crisplet gave me. Thanks anyway for it:)

[Jordy]

@Jordy- I am not too sure if she is Mara registered but know she is with a well-known company base in Cape Town. She is from Four Corners , I don't feel giving her name is right. She has been really good so far. I just feel maybe she overlooked this aspect or merely hasn't kept up to date with it all which obviously isn't acceptable if we paying for her service etc.

I can understand that. I am sure you did your homework before handing over your money. I am sure it will all be fine in the end. Will be interested to see how your case works out.

[Briggy]

@Jordy- yes, definitely did out homework. My cousin went through same lady and hve been in Perth for three years now so I do feel confident that it will all work out. Even if it is a delay of a couple of months, it still allows us to have our future in Aus as we are only 25 at the moment:) will keep you posted. I'm very curious as to why our agent applied for primary school teacher when in fact I am qualified in early years. Trust she knows what she is doing as it is our future she holds in her hands at the moment.

All the best Jordy,

Briggy

[ABC123]

Hi Briggy,

I was in a very similar situation. I had not discovered the forum yet when we first decided to start this whole process. We contacted a few agencies that we know others have used and went with the first one that got back to us. Little did we know at the time that it was one of the agencies that is recommended on this forum NOT to use. Anyway, by the time we realised this, we had already paid for their services and felt we needed to carry on the process with them.

I am also qualified as a foundation phase teacher, and because of our training, we would be able to apply for a visa as either a primary school teacher or early years teacher - a positive skills assessment in one area doesn't exclude you from one in another area. My agent also initially suggested that I apply for a SS190 visa as a primary school teacher. I didn't like the idea of being tied to a specific state and so after doing some research and getting some advice from people on this forum, approached my agent about looking into applying as an early years teacher. She came back and was very reluctant for some reason. She said that I could apply for the early years teacher, but that she still recommended that we go with the 190 visa as it was quicker (I don't know how true this is). I think that she really just wanted to get on with the process and I was now delaying it by having to get new documents and fill in different forms etc. Obviously I wanted to rather go for the 189 visa as it gives us more options. As I said, if I had known better I would have chosen a different agent, but we felt we needed to follow through having already paid the agent fee.

In hindsight, we probably could have done the whole process ourselves as I have spent a lot of time researching and questioning our agent because I just didn't have confidence in her. But despite this, we finally submitted and paid for our 189 visa at the beginning of December and the agent has been constantly checking in with us and hasn't "disappeared" with our money so I think we are luckier than others. Just passing time now waiting to hear when our visa will be approved! All the best as you begin on this rollercoaster of a journey!

[Briggy]

@ABC123 - have sent you a PM:)

Thanks again to everyone for the knowledge you so willingly share. Appreciate it big time:)

[Spider]

Briggy has your agent considered contacting them to see if they consider amending it as opposed to reassess?

Also could you pm your qualifications as someone close to me is putting together paperwork and I want to be able to understanding it a bit better re qualifications (so if you happy to confirm what you have for comparison?)

if not on the SOL is it not a a state sponsorship list?

[Nev]

I have used the Australian office of 4-corners for both our applications and there were fantastic, The work has also used them for a lot of other visa's for other staff as well.

MARA registered and a registered Auz business, your money is safe as they are not sharks, but something doesn't sound right.

Edited January 12, 2015 by Nev

[Briggy]

@ Nev - Thanks, my cousins went through them and no hassles etc so I am quite confident they are doing their job right. However, it is fishy that I would be classified as a "Primary School Teacher" when I have no experience with children ages 9-12. All the documents my agent submitted had my experience ranging from ages 3-8 so it's strange that my assessment from Aitsl didn't come back as "Early Childhood Teacher" like my experience proves...

All the best:)

[RYLC]

Briggy AITSL assess you on the occupation code you submit. There is a cross over between the requirements for all the teaching categories.

Early Years Teacher: ages of 3 - 8

Primary Teacher: ages of 5 - 12 years

Middle Years: the ages of 10 to 15

Secondary Years: the ages of 13 - 18 years

So as you can see Early years and Primary Teachers overlap for the age group of 5-8 years which is why you would have passed the assessment for Primary Teacher. It is up to the applicant to nominate the occupation and code and AITSL will process whatever you submit.

This is why it is so important to research exactly what you are applying for.

[Briggy]

@ Crisplet - Thanks for that info. I do agree that research is imperative:) I, however, never applied for my assessment. My agent submitted the application for me and obviously chose the Primary School Teacher for me instead of the Early Years Teacher.

Will this not affect me when I lodge visa application and I have to prove that I have experience for ages 5-12 when I can only prove till 8 years old?

I have recently phoned Four Corners in Aus and found out that "Primary Teacher" is on the skills on demand list for Western Australia and therefore my 190 visa with state sponsorship should all be fine. The only thing is proving my work experience for the Primary School ages when I don't have the experience for all of the ages included. My best bet is to probably get hold of Aitsl and see if they can amend it rather than reapply.

Take care

[RYLC]

Briggy

Please get hold of Tee about this. Yes 190 SS for Western Australia is available BUT it is on Schedule 2 which requires you to have an employment contract for full time employment for at least 12 months to be considered for the visa.

There are a lot of sub clauses, ifs and buts about which visa and what is required. The way I see it is that you need to be reassessed or amended (whatever they can do) to an Early Years Teacher. Then you can apply for a PR visa and go wherever you like. I was helping my sister look at applying for Australia and she is also an early years teacher. When I investigated ALL the options it was clear that Australia is not taking Primary Teachers as defined by their assessment process. They have enough Primary teachers because it is a very popular course with few vacancies. Only six months ago I did a thorough look at every state and without exception Primary Teaching was out because it was closed or needed an offer of employment from off shore.

I know that you didn't apply that it was the agent but honestly when your visa is denied because the fine print was overlooked nobody is going to care who did the actual application. Sorry to sound harsh but you need to take ownership of your application. At least get a second opinion. Not wanting to redo the assessment at this stage is short sighted in my opinion and of course the agent wants to keep going because it costs them to back track and they don't want to look bad. Honestly, how bad are they going to look when you don't get a visa due to these oversights. To be a good migrant, we have to learn to just do what is needed whether we like it or not. From my point of view you are going to have to redo some or all of your application either sooner or later and it is going to cost more money if it is left until later.

I can't remember who it was but sometime last year one of the forumites had to withdraw their application after they had paid over R100,000 and resubmit and pay it all over again. He bravely posted his story as a warning to others. All I know is that Primary Teaching will not get you to Australia whereas Early Years Teaching will. I don't care what your agent says. The IMMI and state websites have the final say and criteria - not your agent who really doesn't sound up to speed.

[Mara]

Briggy, please take Crisplet's advice, it is genuine, and doing so may get you a visa for Australia, by not doing so you stand a good chance of failing to get a visa!

[Briggy]

@ Crisplet - I did read yesterday about the 12 month contract of employment under "additional requirements" and that was a worry. Thanks for your concern I do appreciate it. I have tried to phone Aitsl however no response(phoned in their time zone). I have since emailed them asking about an amendment and/or what the process is for me to be classified as an Early Years Teacher.

I don't see your comment as harsh, it is the truth and this is our future we talking about so thank you:) Agent is on leave till Monday but if Aitsl come back sooner with what the process is I will jump on board and get it done myself as, like you said, I must take ownership.

Many thanks Crisplet and Mara for concern and advice:)

[missj]

Hi

Can somebody please give me advice, I have a bachelor of education (foundation and intermediate phase). I need to check but I think I did 40 days practical teaching in foundation phase and 40 days in senior primary. Do you think I could apply as an ECD teacher? All my experience (8 years) is in senior primary but they don't look at your experience when skills are assessed. I am qualified to teach the foundation phase but am missing 5 days of prac teaching on this phase. It seems a bit ridiculous?

[miran]

You will need a formal letter from the Institute confirming your practice teaching. If possible go there or email them about writing such a letter but make sure they know exactly how many hours/days/weeks the visa requires. They won't have a problem specifying that in the letter. I asked for letter in 2008 and in 2014 and they wrote exactly what I asked for because admin is not always sure of the exact amount of prac teaching students do, because in reality we do a lot more than the minimum requirement. And please, please, please do what Chrisplet say and get your qualifications assessed as an ECD teacher. That will get you a visa, intermediate phase won't.......