Do you engage a immigration specialist or DIY?

biotope · Mar 27, 2012

I am thinking of migrating from sg, but did not have a clue on how to do it, and whether i am eligible etc.

My friend recommend me to go to an immigration specialist at international plaza (cant rem the name) who is helping him process his application to Australia. Total process takes about 1 year and costs about 9 - 10k SGD. Is it necessary or reasonable pricing?? Does having a specialist really increase one's chances?

breaknews · Mar 28, 2012

Dun be lazy lah! Fill up the forms yourself.

Save the money and it will come in handy in OZ.

Getloud · Mar 28, 2012

biotope said:
I am thinking of migrating from sg, but did not have a clue on how to do it, and whether i am eligible etc.

My friend recommend me to go to an immigration specialist at international plaza (cant rem the name) who is helping him process his application to Australia. Total process takes about 1 year and costs about 9 - 10k SGD. Is it necessary or reasonable pricing?? Does having a specialist really increase one's chances?

Way too expensive.
You have to DIY a lot of issues b4 they can help you.

ZorrorroZ · Mar 28, 2012

be that as it may... the correct agent found does help to smoothen the application process... but you can do it yourself.

But whatever the case is - if applying to migrate to Oz .. better do so soon, as from July 2012 onwards the rules change significantly to make it much harder to migrate. Take heed - don't take too long sitting on the fence. It might be almost impossible soon.

biotope · Mar 28, 2012

thanks all for your input.

i know they are gng to have changes from july, but i still have yet to take the ielts exams (next available date in may) so might be really tough.

i heard from my fren that even if you apply now, but crosses over to july before it is approved, you will also be assessed based on new criteria. Anyone can confirm if this is true?

ZorrorroZ · Mar 28, 2012

As far as I know, DIAC takes reference from the point of time the application is submitted (that means correctly filled and accepted application). If your application is rejected due to incompleteness or wrong entry, this is not counted. If any, that is a reason to get a good agent to ensure your app is filled out correctly (but is not compulsory). However long it takes to process the application is immaterial - so it's important to ensure correct submission before July.

biotope · Mar 28, 2012

hmmm.. ok..

i think most prob i will start doing it soon.

hope everyone can assist me here and let me know if i am missing anything, from my (rough) understanding, the below seemed to be what i need to be doing

1. Take the IELTS exams (pass with a min 7 in all 4 categories.)
2. Get letter of references from current and all ex-employers
3. Send all the letters of references in for skills assessment
4. After skill assessment, if positive, my job qualifies for state sponsorship in certain WA states so apply for state sponsorship
5. If all ok then can submit PR application?

Is that the correct procedure?

ZorrorroZ · Mar 28, 2012

biotope said:
hmmm.. ok..

i think most prob i will start doing it soon.

hope everyone can assist me here and let me know if i am missing anything, from my (rough) understanding, the below seemed to be what i need to be doing

1. Take the IELTS exams (pass with a min 7 in all 4 categories.)
2. Get letter of references from current and all ex-employers
3. Send all the letters of references in for skills assessment
4. After skill assessment, if positive, my job qualifies for state sponsorship in certain WA states so apply for state sponsorship
5. If all ok then can submit PR application?

Is that the correct procedure?

skills assessment in what field?

biotope · Mar 28, 2012

finance broker

biotope · Mar 28, 2012

just to add on for skills assessment, i shd be assessed by VETASSESS but when i went to their website i saw this

-----------------------------
Important Notice:

Due to the visa changes which the Department of Immigration and Citizenship will implement on 1 July 2012, VETASSESS has received a high volume of applications for skills assessment for the general occupations. Accordingly, VETASSES has suspended the Advisory Service till 1 July 2012. This will help us to process applications to meet the deadline. In the meantime, no advisory service request can be made via the online system. VETASSESS apologises for any inconvenience this may cause.

For the same reason, during this period the assessment team have changed the hours for receiving telephone enquiries. If you wish to speak to an assessor in relation to your skills assessment application, please only contact us between 4 and 5 p.m. Alternatively, you may send your enquiry by email to [email protected].

--------------------

does this mean i cant apply until after july when new rules kicks in?!

ZorrorroZ · Mar 28, 2012

biotope said:
just to add on for skills assessment, i shd be assessed by VETASSESS but when i went to their website i saw this

-----------------------------
Important Notice:

Due to the visa changes which the Department of Immigration and Citizenship will implement on 1 July 2012, VETASSESS has received a high volume of applications for skills assessment for the general occupations. Accordingly, VETASSES has suspended the Advisory Service till 1 July 2012. This will help us to process applications to meet the deadline. In the meantime, no advisory service request can be made via the online system. VETASSESS apologises for any inconvenience this may cause.

For the same reason, during this period the assessment team have changed the hours for receiving telephone enquiries. If you wish to speak to an assessor in relation to your skills assessment application, please only contact us between 4 and 5 p.m. Alternatively, you may send your enquiry by email to [email protected].

--------------------

does this mean i cant apply until after july when new rules kicks in?!

it means that you can apply still, and vetassess will process... but you have no chance to get any advisory service for now (though I am not sure about what the advisory service does actually).

I applied under IT skills... and the skills assessment is very strict... not sure if the finance sector is as strict in processing.

biotope · Mar 28, 2012

actually how does this works? strict means what? How do they actually assess?

do they give a point system as well?

sorry for so many qns.. hehe :P

ZorrorroZ · Mar 28, 2012

biotope said:
actually how does this works? strict means what? How do they actually assess?

do they give a point system as well?

sorry for so many qns.. hehe :P

no worries, glad to help if possible.

ok, for the IT assessment I had to apply to the Australia Computer Society.

I needed to submit reference letters from ALL my employers for the last few years, and also prepare a document listing how my skills and experience were relevant according to their Book of Knowledge, etc. I can't fully remember everything - I made my submission more than a year ago... (that was for an AU wide visa) - but due to changing rules, my skill was not in demand so I was back of the queue for a long time.

End last year, I changed my app to a WA sponsored visa, and then everything speeded up, as WA has demand for my skills currently.

I used an agent, I think the agent fees are about a couple of thousand bucks, but he really helped process everything and guide me along. So I felt that it was money well spent.

Incidently, I received my visa approval today - about 3 years after I initially submitted my original application.

biotope · Mar 29, 2012

Wow, congrats bro! But 3 years?? I thought the IELTS exam results are only valid for 2 years?

So based on your experience, does the list I made up earlier accurate?

Getloud · Mar 29, 2012

From now till July, you will have very little time left to complete all the documents needed to submit for application, especially the skill assessment.
As for IELTS, probably you only have 1 chance to take b4 July.
Not to discourage you, but I've checked with a few who took the test recently, including myself, at least one of the test will get 6.5, instead of 7 or 8.

ZorrorroZ · Mar 29, 2012

biotope said:
Wow, congrats bro! But 3 years?? I thought the IELTS exam results are only valid for 2 years?

So based on your experience, does the list I made up earlier accurate?

The time is always taken at the point of submission.
For example, when I first started, my agent advised me not to take the IELTS yet, cause there were other things to clear first, like the initial submissions and, if I remember correctly, the skills assessment. The IELTS I took sometime in 2010. He only asked my wife to do her IELTS in 2011, after my initial submission was successful and as well as the skills assessment. Similarly, we only did the police and medical checks just last month. So every thing was done in specific stages.

But now, with the new rules, I think the above time table no longer valid... you may have to rush some things already. But if you are applying for state sponsorship - it may be faster than my initial application for AU wide migrant visa.

ZorrorroZ · Mar 29, 2012

biotope said:
Wow, congrats bro! But 3 years?? I thought the IELTS exam results are only valid for 2 years?

So based on your experience, does the list I made up earlier accurate?

your list is more or less there - but seriously, I need to go back and check my files, because I truly forgot what exact things i did initially more than 3 years ago.

biotope · Mar 29, 2012

thanks for all the input, would appreciate if i can help save on the agent fees. hehe :biggrin:

if really can't make the july deadline then just too bad lor, but anyway have to start somewhere. cannot be wait till after july then start doing also right?

ZorrorroZ · Mar 29, 2012

well, good luck.. hope to see you there across the indian ocean.

I'll be having a stroll by the bay down under ... :biggrin:

Unrepented · May 11, 2012

Hi, can we take step on first and keep the results for the said number of years. Then do step two? I am also blurr but would like to start the process rolling now. :smile:

Thanks.

biotope said:
hmmm.. ok..

i think most prob i will start doing it soon.

hope everyone can assist me here and let me know if i am missing anything, from my (rough) understanding, the below seemed to be what i need to be doing

1. Take the IELTS exams (pass with a min 7 in all 4 categories.)
2. Get letter of references from current and all ex-employers
3. Send all the letters of references in for skills assessment
4. After skill assessment, if positive, my job qualifies for state sponsorship in certain WA states so apply for state sponsorship
5. If all ok then can submit PR application?

Is that the correct procedure?

Do you engage a immigration specialist or DIY?

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