Go Back  British Expats > Living & Moving Abroad > Australia > Immigration, Visas & Citizenship (Australia)
Reload this Page >

My 189 Visa Story - Accountant to Australia

My 189 Visa Story - Accountant to Australia

Thread Tools
 
Old Sep 12th 2014, 12:08 pm
  #1  
Just Joined
Thread Starter
 
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 6
Jaymondo is an unknown quantity at this point
Default My 189 Visa Story - Accountant to Australia

Hello All


I have just received my grant letter for a 189 permanent residency visa. I did a lot of Googling during the process which led me to these forums many times. Seeing as I took so much from here I feel it would be worth while telling my story in case this can help anyone in the future.


Background
Me and my partner decided to start the process in February 2014, we have been granted the visa on 11 September 2014. 7 months is a really quick time to get it but it could have been even quicker.


I am a 29 year old chartered accountant (ACCA) and my partner works in admin and HR. We are not married so we thought that this would be the biggest problem with our application.


Migration Agent
Despite both of us being professional form-fillers we decide to go with a migration agent as we were terrified of paying the £3k visa bill and missing out over some silly error.


I spoke to a lot of agents to get the scope for who I thought was best. There were some terrible sounding agents (who I won’t name), one even told me that I am not an accountant but a HR specialist (5 years of training to be chartered in an accountancy firm says otherwise).


I opted to go for an agency called Go Matilda for 2 main reasons. The first being the quality of the emails I received from one of their agents called Marina Towner. She was extremely helpful in answering the initial queries and worries that I had. The other reason was that the head of that company had the same occupation as me, so no worries about being classed as a completely different occupation!


GM were a little bit more expensive than some of the other quotes (About £1,900) I had but I got a lot more of a personal feeling from them and the quality seemed much better.


I would not regret the choice I made to use Go Matilda. They have been great from the get-go and always reply to my questions (and there were a lot of them) very quickly. In particular, Alex Withers has been a pleasure to deal with over the last few months of my application.


Process to EOI (Expression of Interest)
To get to the EOI was basically just gathering all of the documents together (passports, qualifications (University onwards), birth certificates (we had to re-order these but this was straight forward) etc.)


Some of the documents had to be certified by a solicitor but again this was easy and only cost around £25.


I was lucky that my qualifications allowed me to gain enough points for the visa without having to provide any references or documentation from my places of employment. This really helped speed the visa up and let me carry on the process without having to inform my job right away.


Once all of these documents were together, GM filled out the form and we had our EOI approved within a week of submitting it (I was told this was a lot quicker than it usually takes).


Defacto Relationship
As stated at the start of this I thought the proving of the relationship as we are not married would be the most difficult part but it turned out to be relatively straight forward. We just had to fill in a simple form and provide some evidence (we used our rent agreement, council tax bill and included some photos and invitations from weddings that we had been invited to for good measure).


Post EOI
Following the EOI we were asked to provide some further documents and information. I thought this bit would but straight forward but we encountered a delay here. Without the delay I imagine we would have had the visa by June (i.e. 4 months after starting the process).


Medicals were fine and I believe some people are very apprehensive about this. Really simple tests which only take a couple of hours. It was just a case of having height and weight measured (but I believe even if you are huge that you will only fail the medical if you have any serious health issues), weeing into a pot, blood taken, reflexes tested, checked for hernias and a chest xray. I actually found it a really positive experience as I left knowing that I didn’t have any significant health issues to worry about!


Besides this it was a case of getting UK police checks (again really simple process but another £50 or so spent).


The Issue
My other half’s parents live in Greece and over the years she has spent an accumulated time of more than 12 months in Greece over the past few years. This meant that she was required to have a police clearance from Greece.


As I said, without this we would have most likely had the visa granted 3 months ago.


The Greek consulate in London used to deal with such requests but they stopped doing this in April 2014 (1 month before we needed it!). I tried emailing an calling many different Greek consulates and embassies in different locations but kept being told that she would need to go to Greece.


This was an absolute nightmare to obtain and meant my partner having to fly out to Greece to try and sort it and eventually hand over power of attorney to her mother. There was then a lot of waiting for the form to arrive (her mum had to go to the courthouse to get the form but every time she went they would say it wasn’t ready and to come back a few days later. This happened again and again).


Eventually we had to get a Greek lawyer involved, who after about 6 more weeks was able to obtain the form. The lawyer did great work in getting it but obviously laywers cost money and the time delay wasn't ideal either.


We then submitted the form to the migration department and then a few weeks later had a request from them to get it translated. We used a company called Straker translations to do this. You can upload your documents there to get a quote and they had Australian qualified translators on hand to deal with it. They were awesome!


The Grant
Only 2 days after submitting the translated version of the Greek document we now have been granted the visa and we are over the moon!


The time it has taken to get the visa is unbelievable. When we started the process our aim was to get it done by Christmas so to have it now is amazing, especially considering without the complication it could have been even earlier. I was super organised with the whole process and tried to get forms over to my agent immediately after they requested them and I am sure that this really helped speed the whole process up.


Overall, if you are going ahead with this just remember to keep yourself organised and keep working on it. Documents can be prepared ahead of time so you know what your next steps are. Problems will almost certainly come up with your application but keep pressing on the matter and you will get answers.


I hope that this will help someone eventually, good luck everyone 😊
Jaymondo is offline  
Old Sep 12th 2014, 12:17 pm
  #2  
Concierge
 
spouse of scouse's Avatar
 
Joined: Jan 2013
Location: Western Australia
Posts: 21,139
spouse of scouse has a reputation beyond reputespouse of scouse has a reputation beyond reputespouse of scouse has a reputation beyond reputespouse of scouse has a reputation beyond reputespouse of scouse has a reputation beyond reputespouse of scouse has a reputation beyond reputespouse of scouse has a reputation beyond reputespouse of scouse has a reputation beyond reputespouse of scouse has a reputation beyond reputespouse of scouse has a reputation beyond reputespouse of scouse has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: My 189 Visa Story - Accountant to Australia

Originally Posted by Jaymondo
Hello All


I have just received my grant letter for a 189 permanent residency visa. I did a lot of Googling during the process which led me to these forums many times. Seeing as I took so much from here I feel it would be worth while telling my story in case this can help anyone in the future.


Background
Me and my partner decided to start the process in February 2014, we have been granted the visa on 11 September 2014. 7 months is a really quick time to get it but it could have been even quicker.


I am a 29 year old chartered accountant (ACCA) and my partner works in admin and HR. We are not married so we thought that this would be the biggest problem with our application.


Migration Agent
Despite both of us being professional form-fillers we decide to go with a migration agent as we were terrified of paying the £3k visa bill and missing out over some silly error.


I spoke to a lot of agents to get the scope for who I thought was best. There were some terrible sounding agents (who I won’t name), one even told me that I am not an accountant but a HR specialist (5 years of training to be chartered in an accountancy firm says otherwise).


I opted to go for an agency called Go Matilda for 2 main reasons. The first being the quality of the emails I received from one of their agents called Marina Towner. She was extremely helpful in answering the initial queries and worries that I had. The other reason was that the head of that company had the same occupation as me, so no worries about being classed as a completely different occupation!


GM were a little bit more expensive than some of the other quotes (About £1,900) I had but I got a lot more of a personal feeling from them and the quality seemed much better.


I would not regret the choice I made to use Go Matilda. They have been great from the get-go and always reply to my questions (and there were a lot of them) very quickly. In particular, Alex Withers has been a pleasure to deal with over the last few months of my application.


Process to EOI (Expression of Interest)
To get to the EOI was basically just gathering all of the documents together (passports, qualifications (University onwards), birth certificates (we had to re-order these but this was straight forward) etc.)


Some of the documents had to be certified by a solicitor but again this was easy and only cost around £25.


I was lucky that my qualifications allowed me to gain enough points for the visa without having to provide any references or documentation from my places of employment. This really helped speed the visa up and let me carry on the process without having to inform my job right away.


Once all of these documents were together, GM filled out the form and we had our EOI approved within a week of submitting it (I was told this was a lot quicker than it usually takes).


Defacto Relationship
As stated at the start of this I thought the proving of the relationship as we are not married would be the most difficult part but it turned out to be relatively straight forward. We just had to fill in a simple form and provide some evidence (we used our rent agreement, council tax bill and included some photos and invitations from weddings that we had been invited to for good measure).


Post EOI
Following the EOI we were asked to provide some further documents and information. I thought this bit would but straight forward but we encountered a delay here. Without the delay I imagine we would have had the visa by June (i.e. 4 months after starting the process).


Medicals were fine and I believe some people are very apprehensive about this. Really simple tests which only take a couple of hours. It was just a case of having height and weight measured (but I believe even if you are huge that you will only fail the medical if you have any serious health issues), weeing into a pot, blood taken, reflexes tested, checked for hernias and a chest xray. I actually found it a really positive experience as I left knowing that I didn’t have any significant health issues to worry about!


Besides this it was a case of getting UK police checks (again really simple process but another £50 or so spent).


The Issue
My other half’s parents live in Greece and over the years she has spent an accumulated time of more than 12 months in Greece over the past few years. This meant that she was required to have a police clearance from Greece.


As I said, without this we would have most likely had the visa granted 3 months ago.


The Greek consulate in London used to deal with such requests but they stopped doing this in April 2014 (1 month before we needed it!). I tried emailing an calling many different Greek consulates and embassies in different locations but kept being told that she would need to go to Greece.


This was an absolute nightmare to obtain and meant my partner having to fly out to Greece to try and sort it and eventually hand over power of attorney to her mother. There was then a lot of waiting for the form to arrive (her mum had to go to the courthouse to get the form but every time she went they would say it wasn’t ready and to come back a few days later. This happened again and again).


Eventually we had to get a Greek lawyer involved, who after about 6 more weeks was able to obtain the form. The lawyer did great work in getting it but obviously laywers cost money and the time delay wasn't ideal either.


We then submitted the form to the migration department and then a few weeks later had a request from them to get it translated. We used a company called Straker translations to do this. You can upload your documents there to get a quote and they had Australian qualified translators on hand to deal with it. They were awesome!


The Grant
Only 2 days after submitting the translated version of the Greek document we now have been granted the visa and we are over the moon!


The time it has taken to get the visa is unbelievable. When we started the process our aim was to get it done by Christmas so to have it now is amazing, especially considering without the complication it could have been even earlier. I was super organised with the whole process and tried to get forms over to my agent immediately after they requested them and I am sure that this really helped speed the whole process up.


Overall, if you are going ahead with this just remember to keep yourself organised and keep working on it. Documents can be prepared ahead of time so you know what your next steps are. Problems will almost certainly come up with your application but keep pressing on the matter and you will get answers.


I hope that this will help someone eventually, good luck everyone 😊
Congratulations to you and your partner on your visa grant Thanks for taking the time to give such useful and practical information to others who are thinking of applying - I always especially love to see posters who've been helped by BE coming back to help others. Good on you!
spouse of scouse is offline  
Old Sep 12th 2014, 12:50 pm
  #3  
Just Joined
 
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 5
Hanalou2014 is an unknown quantity at this point
Default Re: My 189 Visa Story - Accountant to Australia

Thank you for posting this, I won't be applying for another year but when I do I will defiantly use this thread! And I'll look up go Matilda too. All the best x
Hanalou2014 is offline  
Old Sep 12th 2014, 1:08 pm
  #4  
Just Joined
Thread Starter
 
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 6
Jaymondo is an unknown quantity at this point
Default Re: My 189 Visa Story - Accountant to Australia

Thanks guys and I hope it helps you next year Hanalou. Anyone who is reading this who is in a similar position to me can feel free to ask any questions
Jaymondo is offline  
Old Sep 12th 2014, 1:17 pm
  #5  
Home and Happy
 
Pollyana's Avatar
 
Joined: Dec 2002
Location: Keep true friends and puppets close, trust no-one else...
Posts: 93,814
Pollyana has a reputation beyond reputePollyana has a reputation beyond reputePollyana has a reputation beyond reputePollyana has a reputation beyond reputePollyana has a reputation beyond reputePollyana has a reputation beyond reputePollyana has a reputation beyond reputePollyana has a reputation beyond reputePollyana has a reputation beyond reputePollyana has a reputation beyond reputePollyana has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: My 189 Visa Story - Accountant to Australia

Originally Posted by Jaymondo
Thanks guys and I hope it helps you next year Hanalou. Anyone who is reading this who is in a similar position to me can feel free to ask any questions
Many congrats - and thanks for giving us the report, helpful for so many others down the line
Pollyana is offline  
Old Sep 29th 2014, 1:56 pm
  #6  
Just Joined
 
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 14
chrisjm15 is an unknown quantity at this point
Default Re: My 189 Visa Story - Accountant to Australia

Hi guys,

I'm an accountant looking to do exactly this.
How much of your work experience counted?

I passed my CIMA in June (had been a passed finalist for 2.5 years, but never got round to completing the log book until then).
Have been working as a Management accountant for 8+ years.

Essentially I'm wondering if I'm going to score any points at all on the work experience part.

Also, how do I go about getting the work experience bit - do I need a reference?


Thanks,
Regards, Chris.
chrisjm15 is offline  
Old Sep 30th 2014, 10:12 am
  #7  
Just Joined
Thread Starter
 
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 6
Jaymondo is an unknown quantity at this point
Default Re: My 189 Visa Story - Accountant to Australia

Originally Posted by chrisjm15
Hi guys,

I'm an accountant looking to do exactly this.
How much of your work experience counted?

I passed my CIMA in June (had been a passed finalist for 2.5 years, but never got round to completing the log book until then).
Have been working as a Management accountant for 8+ years.

Essentially I'm wondering if I'm going to score any points at all on the work experience part.

Also, how do I go about getting the work experience bit - do I need a reference?


Thanks,
Regards, Chris.
Hi Chris

For my application I did not have to claim any points for my work experience.

To get to a qualifying points level I used:
-My ACCA qualification and Bachelors Degree
-Age (I am 29)
-IELTS score of 8 and above in each category

This was really handy as it saved me the hassle of getting letters from work. I did have to do a skills assessment with the Aussie equivalent of ACCA though.

Let me know if you need any help or PM me your phone number if a chat would help.

Good luck

James
Jaymondo is offline  
Old Sep 30th 2014, 6:28 pm
  #8  
Just Joined
 
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 27
Amr Yahia is an unknown quantity at this point
Default Re: My 189 Visa Story - Accountant to Australia

Congratulations, your story inspired me a lot especially I am still in the starting point.

I want to ask about something. You did not need to get your work experience evidence.
What I have understood is that the more points you get, the higher chance you have.
Is that right ?
Amr Yahia is offline  
Old Oct 1st 2014, 8:45 pm
  #9  
Just Joined
Thread Starter
 
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 6
Jaymondo is an unknown quantity at this point
Default Re: My 189 Visa Story - Accountant to Australia

Originally Posted by Amr Yahia
Congratulations, your story inspired me a lot especially I am still in the starting point.

I want to ask about something. You did not need to get your work experience evidence.
What I have understood is that the more points you get, the higher chance you have.
Is that right ?
Thanks Amr and good luck on starting your application

I thought that this was the case too regarding the points but my migration advisor said that once I had enough points through education that there was no need to claim the extra points. She seemed to be right as well because the visa was granted quickly. Maybe someone on here with more experience of this can confirm?
Jaymondo is offline  
Old Oct 1st 2014, 9:24 pm
  #10  
Lost in BE Cyberspace
 
Bermudashorts's Avatar
 
Joined: Feb 2009
Location: UK
Posts: 14,284
Bermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: My 189 Visa Story - Accountant to Australia

Originally Posted by chrisjm15
Hi guys,

I'm an accountant looking to do exactly this.
How much of your work experience counted?

I passed my CIMA in June (had been a passed finalist for 2.5 years, but never got round to completing the log book until then).
Have been working as a Management accountant for 8+ years.

Essentially I'm wondering if I'm going to score any points at all on the work experience part.

Also, how do I go about getting the work experience bit - do I need a reference?


Thanks,
Regards, Chris.
In the majority of occupations, the pre qualification experience won't count. There appears to be some discretion with accountants as it appears to be recognised that part qualified accountants often do the same work as fully qualified.

But in all honesty, I wouldn't risk it. Can you get 60 points without your experience? If so, then do so.
Bermudashorts is offline  
Old Oct 18th 2014, 7:42 pm
  #11  
Forum Regular
 
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 37
laura644 is an unknown quantity at this point
Default Re: My 189 Visa Story - Accountant to Australia

This was a really helpful post. Thank you.

I have just qualified (CIMA) and about to start applying for 189 visa. I plan on using CPA for my skills assessment. I was under the impression I just opt for a skills assessment on my qualification, now I am a bit confused about the employment evidence part. I don't have any post qualification experience (I am currently on maternity leave and only just qualified) does that mean I wouldn't be able to get points for my work experience anyway or can you get pre-qualified work experience verified?

If I get enough point for my qualification, english test and ago does that mean I shouldn't have to get work experience assessed?

Many Thanks

Laura
laura644 is offline  
Old Oct 18th 2014, 8:05 pm
  #12  
Lost in BE Cyberspace
 
Bermudashorts's Avatar
 
Joined: Feb 2009
Location: UK
Posts: 14,284
Bermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: My 189 Visa Story - Accountant to Australia

Originally Posted by laura644
This was a really helpful post. Thank you.

I have just qualified (CIMA) and about to start applying for 189 visa. I plan on using CPA for my skills assessment. I was under the impression I just opt for a skills assessment on my qualification, now I am a bit confused about the employment evidence part. I don't have any post qualification experience (I am currently on maternity leave and only just qualified) does that mean I wouldn't be able to get points for my work experience anyway or can you get pre-qualified work experience verified?

If I get enough point for my qualification, english test and ago does that mean I shouldn't have to get work experience assessed?

Many Thanks

Laura
Work experience doesn't need to be assessed anyway, it is not much more than a money spinner to be honest. Don't you know what your points are? It is pretty easy to add them up. You would be well advised not to try and claim for work experience IMHO, it is a grey area for accountants. In many occupations it is a definite no to per qualification experience.
Bermudashorts is offline  
Old Oct 18th 2014, 8:43 pm
  #13  
Forum Regular
 
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 37
laura644 is an unknown quantity at this point
Default Re: My 189 Visa Story - Accountant to Australia

So if I am not applying for skilled employment assessment from CPA then they will not ask me to provide additional information from my previous employers to confirm I have enough experience in certain areas.

I am just confirming this as I spoke to a migration agent yesterday and they said CPA may come back and ask for a reference from a past employer to confirm I have specific budgeting experience (for example)....

Maybe they were referring to a skilled employment assessment...?
laura644 is offline  
Old Oct 18th 2014, 8:54 pm
  #14  
Lost in BE Cyberspace
 
Bermudashorts's Avatar
 
Joined: Feb 2009
Location: UK
Posts: 14,284
Bermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond reputeBermudashorts has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: My 189 Visa Story - Accountant to Australia

Originally Posted by laura644
So if I am not applying for skilled employment assessment from CPA then they will not ask me to provide additional information from my previous employers to confirm I have enough experience in certain areas.

I am just confirming this as I spoke to a migration agent yesterday and they said CPA may come back and ask for a reference from a past employer to confirm I have specific budgeting experience (for example)....

Maybe they were referring to a skilled employment assessment...?
The accountant skills assessment is based upon qualification alone. If you are a fully qualified CIMA, you will pass skills assessment.

There is no requirement for anybody to have work experience assessed.
Bermudashorts is offline  
Old Oct 18th 2014, 8:58 pm
  #15  
Forum Regular
 
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 37
laura644 is an unknown quantity at this point
Default Re: My 189 Visa Story - Accountant to Australia

I will be a fully qualified CIMA by the time i do the skills assessment (just waiting for my PER to be signed off!)

Many Thanks, that's really re-assuring

Laura
laura644 is offline  


Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.