Story from a Visa Granted candidate

ruelcortez_BH · January 2014

First of all gusto ko magpasalamat ng marami sa members, admin and moderators ng site na to. It really helped me a lot on various stages on processing our application. From Assessement, to IELTS, EOI, Medical and Lodging a Visa Application.

In return, I would like to share my experience and strategy on the processing of our Visa application.

Please note po na suggestions and tips lang ito and ideally focused sa independent applicants (di po kami dumaan sa agent) and this is not a complete guide.

Dito po kami nagprocess ng application sa Middle East.

Visa Type Applied: Skilled Nomation (subclass 190)
Occupation: Systems Administrator
Number of Applicants: Family of Four

Phase 1. Skill Assessment

Reviewed the CSOL, looked for relevant occupation/profession and assessing authority. Nung nanalocate ko na to may detailed job roles and responsibilities bawat occupation, so pinili ko yung close sa current work whereas yung may pinakamahaba ako experience. Napili ko is Sys Ad.

In my case, I have worked for three different companies, two of these are not relevant on my nominated occupation, which means yung huling alas ko must have the necessary roles and number of years (i.e. years). And yung 2 kasi although IT related medyo iba sa current sa occupation ko. And nung nagrequest ako ng Certificate of Employment, ako nirequest ko na iadd yung job roles ko and yung iba suggestions. This way it will surely match kung ano yung roles na required.

Nung nakapagdecide na ako sa exact occupation, I started securing all documents:

Diploma
Transcript of Records
Certificate of Employment
Certificates (i.e. Microsoft Certifications)
Training and Development Certificates
Letter from Company i.e. commendation/promotions
Passport

Photocopied each one/page in colour then notarised by a lawyer/attorney. Lucky I was, I am working with a law firm.

Submitted the Skills Assessemnt application, upload each doc then pay the fee. A reference number along with the password will be given so you can check your status online. Waited 10 weeks and received positive status as per letter attached to the email.

Phase 2. IELTS

My mistake is that I should have started reviewing IELTS while waiting for the SS result. So I've waited for the result then paid tutor for review and invested 2 months before test. Taken the exam and it was worth-it after sleepless nights. I would advise magreview na habang naghihintay for SS result. Also, focus muna to watch English channels like BBC and CNN or Australian news. Read a lot, articles from newspapers etc.

Phase 3. EOI

First EOI is free of charge, on this stage kinailangan ko Reference number, date, and Assessment Authority of my Skills Assessement result.

I needed IELTS results din, score per module and TRN (Test Reference Numeber) which is around 18 characters long. Make sure complete and correct yung pagkatype nyo ng TRN kasi it might lead to issue later on, double check na lang.

EOI is points-based, so as per advise ng ibang members be "Honest" and do not overestimate your points kasi pag nagclaim ka ng higher than your actual point pwede magkaissue ito once na nareach yung checking stage ng Immigration Case Officer.

I did not claim 5 points for my partner (wife) though qualified sya, pero requirement dapat dumaan din sya ng Skills Assessment and IELTS, and we do not have enough time for this since we need to obtain pa Employment Certificates nya from Pinas.

After submitting EOI, yung will receive an EOI number then set-up password para macheck status online.

Phase 4. State Nomination

Based on my Visa Subclass 190, I have to obtain an Invitation from a region or state. I have chosen South Australia for various reasons. Everything is actually online din, website is https://www.migration.sa.gov.au/

From here, nagregister ako for Skills Nomination, no Fee (some state have). Upload all documents, now at this stage kelangan mo details of the combination of Phase 1 to Phase 3.

Skills Assessement (Date when being Assessed, Assessment Authority and Reference Number)
IELTS (Scores and TRN)
EOI Reference Number
Upload relevant documents
CV (I think, cannot remember)

The form has two tricky questions, first yung amount of your Fund. certain category have certain brackets, dahil family of 4 kami na nagaaply we fell into highest category, I just choosed that bracket and done, di naman nagask ng Proof.

Second question is, why you have choosed South Australia for your nomination. I responded all positive things about Adelaide, na mas family oriented sya compared to Sydney, laid back and mas mababa ang cost of living. Dami other information from other websites, its your choice but make them comfortable about your response.

Once filled up na yung form, you will get a notification by email and you can track your progress online.

Since nakapagsubmit ka na ng State Nomination Application, magappear yun sa EOI account mo.

Nung nareceive ko Invitation ko from SA, updated na status ko SA website and EOI. Then my link dun about your Invitation if you are willing to apply. Please note 2 months lang valid to, if you will not apply it will expire and you have to wait again for another invitation.

Phase 5. Lodging Visa Application.

Most exciting part. once na naclick mo Apply button sa EOI, it will go through a different link where you can lodge an application.

The online application form compared to EOI is 10 times longer and more detailed. Since we are family of four, mas mahaba, each secondary applicant may separate page. You can save your progress if you cannot finish filling up the form in one seat. I have asked my wife to check the details of our application specially passport number, birth date etc kasi di mo na ito pwede iamend once na nagbayad ka na. So I suggest you do the same thing para mas safe.

Payment, medyo nahirapan kami sa part na to, aside from the fact na nagbago policy na bawat dependents (secondary applicant) may payment na for each (sakit sa bangs :-) I have to borrow pa credit card of my friend who have sufficient credit limit. That time ayaw iaccept debit card ko na may fund naman, ang suggestions nung iba, mag top up sa credit card kung di abot limit mo. Once paid, I have automatically received acknowledgement from immigration, attaching summary of our application and a receipt of payment.

Afterwards, nakapagcreate na kami account and password where you can view your status online and attach documents.
Sometime on december, nagbago site to Immi Account, you can still retrieve your application if you have already Lodged prior to their mentioned date. BTW Lodged po ang status kapag paid na.

Part 2 continued...

ruelcortez_BH · January 2014

Part 2:

Phase 5. Uploading/Attaching Documents.

Since ako Primary Applicant, mas marami requirements sa akin, I have uploaded all certified documents ko (academics docs from my Skills Assessement). Certified dapat lahat including Passport, Birthcertificate, SSS id, national ID, Marriage Cert. Pero yung sa IELTS and Assessment ko di ko na pinacertify, basta use colour scanner para clear and di magkaproblema once na nagkaroon ng Case Officer. Sinama ko na rin yung payslips, bank statements, other proof of income mas marami mas okay basta walang contradicting or false information.

Secondary Applicants, for my wife, nagattached na rin ako Certified copies of her Diploma and Transcript kahit di ako nagclaim ng 5 points, baka kasi advantage din to. Nagattach din ako wedding photos at nung mag jowa pa kami, sa kids ganun din family pics as proof.

Form 80, I suggest idownload, fill up electronically then sign and upload then. Minsan CO ask minsan hindi pero mas okay ready and front loaded na.

Why front loading? In my own opinion and experience pag complete na docs na "front-loaded" mas mabilis ang processing ng application kasi wala ng hintayan between you and the case officer. May cases na Grant kahit wala sign of Case officer.

Phase 6. Medical

Nagpamedical na rin kami lahat kahit wala pa Case Officer,

Our Medical was paper based, nagcheck ako online kung ano authorised Panel Physician on our current country and luckily it was our regular hospital, kung saan pinanganak yung 2 kids at dun din OB GYN ng wife ko. So all our previous records were already there prior to our appointment. Before getting appointment, you must generate a Referral Letter to Physician which is a link available sa online application.

After completing Medical tests, yung hospital na ang nagsend through UPS nung Medical report namin sa Oz. After 1 week, our status online changed to "No Health Examinations are required....

Phase 7. Police Clearance and NBI Clearance

Nagobtain kami PCC dito sa Bahrain and nung nagbakasyon kami sa Pinas, kumuha na rin kami NBI Clearance, nung nakuha namin scan and upload na rin sa online application.

Note: sa online application, bawat documents na uploaded may status na Received, Required at Recommended, medyo confusing yung Required na status kahit na upload nyo na yung documents, common issue to sa website, later on it will change to 'Received" which means either nareview na ng Immigration...

Phase 8. Case Officer Assigned

As I have mentioned once front loaded lahat wala na hahanapin pang iba ang Case Officer, except on some circumastance kung may verification about names etc. In our case yung Proof of Functional English and hinahanap, bale yung wife ko scheduled for IELTS exams prior on having CO, so sabi ko yung exams nya will take place in coming days, inaattach ko yung IELTS Exam Registration and Confirmation. To my surprise, after 3 days, Visa Granted. Napakabait na naging CO ko, siguro considered working as Assistant Teacher ko sa British Curriculum based pre-school so parang waived na last final requirement, pero tuloy parin exams ng wife sayang ang bayad :-).

Kung di namin sinimulan la kami natapos, we just persevere, work hard, time management (considered we are both working with 2 young kids) and most importantly Pray everyday together.

I know these "nobela" is not too informative, its just more on sharing the steps I did to reach the final goal.

GOod luck to everyone and wish you will be granted soon as well.

Admin · January 2014

@ruelcortez_BH very useful info, thanks for sharing, this will mean alot to others who are also with the same case as yours!

Admin · January 2014

Congrats @ruelcortez_BH!

JCsantos · January 2014

kudos to you abd congrats!

kulotski · January 2014

Nice! Congrats po

j_1019alisen · March 2014

@ruelcortez_BH hi just got invited in NSW ask lang po sana ako sa phase 5 kailangan po pa CERTIFIED TRUE COPIES? di po ba pwedeng colored scan na lang???

olivet · March 2014

Thanks ruelcortez_BH for sharing your story. It has given so much information and guidance to us who are planning to start the "Australian Journey". Hope you will still be there whenever we need additional info and/or guidance. Thanks a lot and God bless you and your family....

poinsettia9 · March 2014

In my case, colored scan lang naman inupload ko pero ok naman sa CO

ruelcortez_BH · March 2014

@j_1019alisen sorry po was busy with work, di ko po sure what you mean by Phase 5, ang pinacertify ko lang are passport, birth cert, marriage, employment cert, pero yung further docs na sinubmit ko colour scan na lang such as NBI, Police Clearance, IELTS and Skills Assessment Results...

@olivet, willing to help even we already landed Oz, let me know po if you have any questions

@poinsettia9, +1 po. I agree na colour scan instead of Black and white para mas clear at sure instead na iparescan ng CO