Yolandie Posted August 18, 2017 Report Share Posted August 18, 2017 Hi all Just joined the forum! I am an attorney and my hubbie is a plumber. We have two awesome kids who are 7 and 9. My sister in law is in Melbourne and after years of hard work and struggling just to get by, we decided we are ready to pack up and start again in a country where tradesmen are still appreciated and our kids have a future. Now that the mind shift is solid to start over in Oz, I am so excited yet frustrated and impatient to start our next chapter. My hubby is a plumber (main applicant on 189 visa) and doing his skill assessment in Cape Town on 13 Sept and we are writing IETLS on 30 Sept. He needs to get at least a 7 to get his 60 points. Any tips please? I have read posts here and it seems a bit daunting. Is the skill assessment for a plumber difficult? We have our passports ready and unabridged birth certificates for kids. Are unabridged birth certificates for me and my husband also required. I still have my original marriage certificate. Should I rather apply at Home affairs for an unabridged marriage certificate as well. We send our police clearance requests to Pretoria yesterday. We will book our medicals once our EOI is submitted. Am I forgetting anything important that can cause a delay. If everything goes well and we can submit our EOI in mid October, how long will the VISA take. Will we be able to spend our first Christmas in Melbourne! And then: Will he easily find work as a plumber? At this stage I am not thinking about converting my law studies. Will I be able to find some admin position? This forum is brilliant to know that other people can support and help you through this "life changing" process. Thanks Mates! LOL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopefulJo Posted August 18, 2017 Report Share Posted August 18, 2017 Hi Yolandie! Welcome and good luck with this new adventure Yes you will need unabridged certificates for you and you husband. Get unabridged marriage certificate just in case. Some have needed it, we have not i suggest you get on that right away, there could be a serious delay with this Good luck with the IELTS. You can have a look here for some tips http://ieltsliz.com/ hang in there! Jo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yolandie Posted August 18, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2017 Thank you Jo for being so helpful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted August 18, 2017 Report Share Posted August 18, 2017 Hi @Yolandie just wanted to say welcome to our corner of the world, also to wish you a quick and uncomplicated journey! I do not have any answers for your questions, but I am sure the forum members that do... will get them to you soon! If you are only submitting in October, I think spending your first Christmas 2017 in Melbourne, is probably a wishful thought... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted August 19, 2017 Report Share Posted August 19, 2017 Welcome @Yolandie Seems that 189s are taking up to 11 months now, but have seen direct grants happening in 3 months. One thing to be prepared for is that once you receive your visas, you have to activate within a year of the date of your Police clearance certificates. Hope all goes well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPanda Posted August 19, 2017 Report Share Posted August 19, 2017 22 hours ago, Yolandie said: He needs to get at least a 7 to get his 60 points. Any tips please? I have read posts here and it seems a bit daunting. It's hard to guess how much work preparing for IELTS will be for someone else. We used all the practice material provided online by the organisers. (So we did everything that they provided, but didn't spend additional money) There are some tips and tricks you might find on how to manage all the aspects of the test that don't actually test your English but rather your memory and multitasking ability. I'd say, practice all you can, and then just go write it. 22 hours ago, Yolandie said: If everything goes well and we can submit our EOI in mid October, how long will the VISA take. Will we be able to spend our first Christmas in Melbourne! Short answer: Nobody knows. The difference in the time it takes for the shortest grants and longest grants to come through is really a lot. And nobody can tell you what's gonna happen to your application. I know this is nerve-racking, and frustrating, but that's just how this part of the process is. Welcome to the forum, and hope you have some smooth sailing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yolandie Posted August 19, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2017 Thanks RedPanda Mara & Husky. So awesome of you to reply, to encourage and give honest advice. I quess we will just have to be patient and take one step at a time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fidjet Posted August 19, 2017 Report Share Posted August 19, 2017 Welcome Yolandie Like RedPanda and Husky said how long it will take can be anyone's guess, we applied in April and we are still waiting, one of our friends applied a couple of days after us and got his that same month. As for IELTS good luck, do all the free training they give you and if you struggle with any of the categories, it is really worthwhile going for one of their paid training sessions. They give very helpful tips and hints and they allow you to do one long and one short written "test" and then grade it and explain why you got the mark you got. We did the training and we got 7 (my husband 8.5) first time, this would not have happened if we didn't go for the training. One thing they told us there (this might have changed now so if you can find out) for the listening and reading do not use leading 0 in your time, so 9 am is 9:00 and not 09:00, also if the question is; "the train leaves at ----- in the morning." don't write 9 am it is simply 9 or 9:00. The last tip if they say "no more than 2 words" they mean no more than 2 words, 3 words will be marked wrong, so like my Uni teacher said RTFQ (read the F Question) we got the feeling they test your ability to read and answer the question more than your ability to actually communicate. Good luck. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yolandie Posted August 21, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2017 Awesome tips Fidget! Thank you so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yolandie Posted September 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2017 My hubbie did his skill assessment on the 13th September for plumbing and got a "successful outcome" yesterday. Jippee!!!! Now the next hurdle is our IELTS tests on the 30th September and 1 October 2017. If he gets 7 he will have his 60 points and with a 8 70 points. It is just amazing how slowly the time drags by when you have made the decision to immigrate. I hope there are more people feeling like this. I just want to end this chapter and start the new one in Australia. How can you stay positive and motivated in your work and life in SA, while your head is already spinning about setting up a new life in Oz??? The uncertainty of the time frame involved is frustrating me, but I guess that is part of the journey. Jealous of all the members that is already down under. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ta2Bryan Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 Welcome Yolandie. This process will teach you patience like no other. We started our process about 4 months ago; sold our house, IELTS done and waiting on skills assessment. We were informed last week that our 60 points is not enough at this stage for a 189 or 190 visa, so am considering a work visa to get a foot in the door. My wife is rewriting her IELTS in 2 weeks, her original scores were 7.5,8,8,9, so she is going to try for everything above 8 for a better score, so ask hubby to prepare as much as possible for the test, you may also need the extra points. As someone said on this forum before, do not be over hasty and wish your time away, use the time you have to travel, see friends, go to restaurants etc. The cold hard fact is that, unless you come back, the chances are you will never see 90% of the people you care about again. Sad, but true. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TamTam Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 Hi Yolandie Welome to the forum and congrats on starting your journey. 1. Your patience will be tested like nothing else and it will feel like living in limbo (get used to it ). 2. As @Husky said you will need to activate your VISA once it's issued - that involves getting your passport stamped at any Australian airport - and the time to activate can vary. 3. You can try start viewing South Africa through a tourist's eyes and go see all those places you haven't yet gotten to or those that you love. 4. Start sifting through the stuff you want / don't want, it's amazing how much we collect over the years. 5. Do you have pets you want to take with, if so start investigating what vaccinations etc. are required and whether you are ok with the length of the quarantine. 6. If you own property you can start thinking about whether you want to sell or rent - keeping in mind you will pay tax in OZ on income earned in SA (please correct me other forumites if I am wrong). 7. I could say don't wish the time away but I understand that once you've made a big decision like this you just want it to happen already. the only thing I can advise is try keep yourself distracted. The processing times vary in ways that mystify me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yolandie Posted September 25, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 Thank you TamTam and Ta2Bryan. Ta2Bryan, might I ask what profession are you in and why 60 points are not enough? My husband is a plumber. TamTam, like your icon. I am very sad to leave my cats behind, but we are going to stay with family in Melbourne the first couple of months. We are renting at the moment and already scaled down. Our plan is to sell everything. I am going to use the company Moving On. My only two sentimental issues are my cats and collection of paintings. I tried to find cheap quotes to ship the paintings over but the shipping fees are too excessive. This is the first time I heard about activating your visa. We are in PE, does this mean a trip to Joburg? At the moment we are trying to save up and therefore we limit our travels. At least it is nice to hear from fellow-wannabe Aussies. Thank you for your advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimpleSimon Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 Hi @Yolandie I note your question about employment. Tradesmen are in demand on the East Coast of Australia (particularly Sydney) as there is a building boom and Trades haven’t been attractive to school leavers for decades. Unemployment is 5% hence the basis for the 189, 190 and 457/visas. Australia has a skills shortage. That said, you and Hubble will be competing with people coming over from China and India so salaries will be low until you get your Australian law qualifications and he gets his local ticket and sets up his own shop. You can survive on one salary but to be comfortable, start saving and affor to buy a house you need 2 good salaries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisH Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 6 hours ago, Yolandie said: Ta2Bryan, might I ask what profession are you in and why 60 points are not enough? My husband is a plumber. Keep in mind that 60 is the minimum to qualify, if there are people with more points than you in any given round they actually jump the queue to be ahead of you. What also happens sometimes is that the department of immigration will see that there is an oversupply of people in a specific occupation code, so they raise the minimum points required to make it harder. This happened to me when I applied, lodged with 60 points, they raised the minimum to 65 the next week so I had to rewrite the Pearson test to acquire more points. Got full marks pushing me to 80 points which means I jumped the queue on my occupation code with anybody under 80 points being pushed down by one slot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TamTam Posted September 26, 2017 Report Share Posted September 26, 2017 15 hours ago, Yolandie said: Thank you TamTam and Ta2Bryan. Ta2Bryan, might I ask what profession are you in and why 60 points are not enough? My husband is a plumber. TamTam, like your icon. I am very sad to leave my cats behind, but we are going to stay with family in Melbourne the first couple of months. We are renting at the moment and already scaled down. Our plan is to sell everything. I am going to use the company Moving On. My only two sentimental issues are my cats and collection of paintings. I tried to find cheap quotes to ship the paintings over but the shipping fees are too excessive. This is the first time I heard about activating your visa. We are in PE, does this mean a trip to Joburg? At the moment we are trying to save up and therefore we limit our travels. At least it is nice to hear from fellow-wannabe Aussies. Thank you for your advice. Regarding activation - that would require not just a trip to Joburg, but a trip to OZ. Let me clarify though because looking at your original post it may not apply to you since you want to move immediately. Imagine you receive your visa today and it gives you one year to activate - if you actually move to Australia before the required activation date then no worries. However, if you would only look to move beyond that then you would need to fly to Australia and get your passports stamped. It seems that you are looking to move straight away so you won't require a separate activation trip. I have heard however that the duration required before you need to activate can vary so once you receive your visa BE SURE to check that date. Good luck for the IELTS! PS: if you want to ask other forumites a question remember to tag them with an @ symbol @Ta2Bryan see the query Yolandie has above for you. PPS: It's probably for the better that you're not taking your cats, it's crazy expensive and stressful for all involved. I have also heard Ozzies are not too fond of cats from an environmental perspective (given that they are little devils and kill local wildlife (I still love them though ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RYLC Posted September 26, 2017 Report Share Posted September 26, 2017 (edited) 2 hours ago, TamTam said: I have also heard Ozzies are not too fond of cats This is not true. There are areas with feral cat populations which have to be managed but the desexed family moggy is alive and well and living (indoors) in suburbia. Every single one of my friends have a cat or two (as well as other pets). Edited September 26, 2017 by RYLC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TamTam Posted September 26, 2017 Report Share Posted September 26, 2017 28 minutes ago, RYLC said: This is not true. There are areas with feral cat populations which have to be managed but the desexed family moggy is alive and well and living (indoors) in suburbia. Every single one of my friends have a cat or two (as well as other pets). Well that's good to hear. I agree that cats should be kept indoors (although they may not be too fond of it). In that respect I think to bring a cat over from SA that is used to the freedom of the outdoors to then be kept indoors isn't a great option. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimpleSimon Posted September 26, 2017 Report Share Posted September 26, 2017 We found homes for our 3 cats in Joburg before coming over. We had 2 labradors in Melbourne called “Winnie” and “Mandela” and found homes for them when we moved to Sydney. Now we have parrots which are hand raised and live inside. Much easier to care for them and they interact nicely with us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ta2Bryan Posted September 26, 2017 Report Share Posted September 26, 2017 @Yolandie ; my wife is a Sonographer and we'll be going over on her ticket, I am a Construction Estimator, got my qualification at The School of Hard Knocks and they don't provide degrees. Technically 60 points get's us in, but the wait will be longer, our agent reckons about 11 months. Hold out on getting your Police clearance until you actually submit, you will have to activate a year from your Clearance and if your process takes 11 months it shortens your time to say goodbye (learned that from the good folk on this forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yolandie Posted September 26, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2017 @Ta2Bryan The PCC takes now 8 weeks for processing. I am a conveyancer/notary/attorney but obviously it will not count at all in Aus. I am going to look for an admin job /paralegal. I am very proactive and we already submitted our PCC's on 17 August. We had a rough year and we wanted to be in Aus yesterday. My hubby looked at the stats for plumbers on skillselect today 3341 Plumbers 5507 3 Is this an indication that we will receive an invite straight away? The moment we get a positive outcome on IELTS we want to do our medicals as well - I know it is only valid for 3 months? If you submit your PCC and medicals with your Visa application, will it not be granted sooner? @Simple Simon; @TamTam; @ RYLC thanks for your input about kitties in Aus. One of the sacrifices of immigrating. At least my kids will be able to ride bicycle to school. Fair trade! Please keep thumbs that hubby rocks the English test this Saturday- he even started to read a book! Will somebody be able to help me with a comprehensive list of all the docs they submitted for their 189 visa (including the spouse and kids)- I do not want to miss anything. Thanks for everybody's input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisH Posted September 26, 2017 Report Share Posted September 26, 2017 Being proactive is good, but don't rush ahead. I would wait for an invite before doing medicals. Submitting the PCC and medicals with the visa application does not guarantee straight-through processing as they might request further documentation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeTMI Posted September 26, 2017 Report Share Posted September 26, 2017 (edited) 4 hours ago, Yolandie said: My hubby looked at the stats for plumbers on skillselect today 3341 Plumbers 5507 3 Is this an indication that we will receive an invite straight away? No it is unrelated to the invitations. This is just the maximum number of individuals that could potentially be invited under this occupation, most occupations are well under the quota level (338 Plumbers were invited last year). It is not a number that are being sought or desired just the maximum quota that would be accepted. With 60 points EOIs are currently experiencing delays. Edited September 26, 2017 by TeeTMI 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yolandie Posted October 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2017 We have done our IELTS on Saturday and Sunday. Now the 13 day wait for the results. Hubby is cautiously optimistic that it went well and if he can get an 8 he will have 70 points. We hope and pray for this. There were even people of Cape Town that drove through. It seems that all the IELTS tests are booked up way in advance in many of the centers. So rather register sooner than later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yolandie Posted October 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2017 Hi All We are super- excited. Just submitted our EOI with 65 points. Hubby: IELTS L 7.5; R 8.5; W 7.5 S 9. We were hoping for an 8, but this will have to do! Now to wait for the invite. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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