jimtrish

hi, im just finishing my enrolled nurse conversion course which in a nutshell will mean im an rgn at the end of march. Ive been a qualified nurse for 14 years, 9 years of which ive worked on neonatal intensive care unit. Ive just been encouraged to apply for a job in townsville, queensland and they have said they may be able to sponsor me.
can anyone advise me as to whether i would still need to have 12 months experience as rgn before getting anywhere with this? and does the job have to be full-time, as my husband will be working on hgvs full time and we have 3 school age children(9,7 and 4yrs).
Only i did read that sometimes the length of experience is waivered if the region is in need of the skilled occupation?
any help gratefully received!
Also is this a permanent visa or can it be, and if not is it easy to get permanent residency when taking this option?
cheers
Trish

CasG

Hi Trish, sorry cannot answer first bit, but hope I can about PR.
I'm going (hopefully Jan) on a 457 visa which is a subclass of ENS. The 457 is temp - 1 to 4 years - but there is perm ENS as well, takes longer than the 6 months mine will have taken. If you go on 457 then I've been told that should be no problem in getting PR once there for us nurses (I'm a RMN) I plan to apply for PR asap once in Aus - takes about 6 months.
I've gone through Affinity Nursing - v good - who tell you what to do and when to do it, get in touch with hospitals for you etc etc
Go onto the DIMIA website and download Booklets 5 and 6 - about 40 pages
Hope thats a start, good luck with your plans.
Cas

Bix

Firstly hello Trish and welcome.

Don't know if you realise but there is a forum especially for nurses on this site here....
http://www.britishexpats.com/forum/f...splay.php?f=72

I am not qualified to answer your questions so will leave it to the experts but from my time here the impression is that if you have nursing skills in demand obtaining a visa can be quick in comparison to other skills.
I think for a sponsored visa it could be as quick as 3 months.

Depends which type of visa they are talking about but have a read of this while you are awaiting better guidance...

http://www.immi.gov.au/work/sponsored_skilled.htm

For Townsville it would be either the temp 457 visa or RSMS visa.
Under the 457 you can still apply for permanent (PR) from within Aus.
The RSMS is PR but I believe ties you to the employer for 2 years after which you can do anything.
Not sure if it could be an ENS visa but advantage of that one is you are not tied in.

There are never any guarantees of obtaining PR but if everyone is healthy it
should be okay and you have a big plus in being a nurse.

Best of luck

jimtrish

hi cas,

thanks for reply. 6 months is pretty quick. I heard that you have to leave oz once the application for pr goes through, is this right?

cheers

trish

CasG

Yes, but that can be a holiday in NZ
Cas

Bix

That is not so for all types of visa.
In practice people already in Aus hop to NZ or somewhere in Asia for a holiday while the visa is being granted. You do get some warning.

tonyk38

Hi Bix,

I was wondering about the PR application in Aus too. How long roughly would you have to be out of the country?

Thanks,
Tony.

Bix

Not really sure Tony but I think about 2 weeks.

tonyk38

Oh, so not months then. Good!

Thanks for the info.
Tony.

JAJ

I would think hard before uprooting yourself from the UK to go to Australia on a 457 visa (unless a last resort) - there is never any guarantee of PR, there's a range of disadvantages and the risk of ending up in a visa mess is not zero.

One of the things that many people (including a lot of agents) don't realise is that the regular ENS scheme is available *throughout* Australia. The RSMS is an additional concessionary scheme applying to regional Australia, Townsville included.

ENS does have its own rules, including one that normally demands three years experience post qualification. Although ENS rules can be waived more easily than general skilled, newly qualified individuals will have a much easier ride in meeting the RSMS requirements.

Advice to the original poster:
1. Read the information on employer nominated PR on the DIMIA website
2. If a job offer comes up, hire a competent migration agent to advise you so as you end up with the *right* visa. Do that before accepting any job (in fact it's best to do so as soon as it's a serious prospect).

Jeremy

jimtrish

Hi Jeremy,

Thanks for your advice. Have just filled out the application form for job in townsville so fingers crossed.
Judging by what you have said and others, it would appear that as a newly qualified nurse ( atleast in the eyes of immigration), I may stand a better chance of getting the RSMS visa/ Do you know roughly how long this might take as I will get the ball rolling as soon as I finish this course ( april 9th is d-day) and want to know roughly how long It will take to get out there.
Also, this may sound daft, but who picks up the tab for the visa application? do the employers pay anything towards the costs?
Oh and is the RSMS a permanent residence visa?

many thanks

trish

tonyk38

Hmmm, I'm having second thoughts about the 457 now.......

I was wondering about the RSMS visa too. How does it compare to the SIR?
Is anyone applying through the RSMS or SIR visas? Any thoughts, ideas most welcome.

Tony.

P.S. Apologies if I'm posting in the wrong section of the forum.

Tony.

JAJ

Short answer it's very simple - RSMS is a permanent visa, SIR is not.

The pros and cons (many more of the former than the latter) of permanent visas vs temporary ones have been discussed many times on the forum.

RSMS does require you to make a 'genuine effort' to stay with the sponsoring employer for 2 years, and if you don't DIMIA do have the power to cancel your visa. However, unlike 457 holders, you don't have to worry about whether your employer will sponsor you for PR (as you already have it) or what happens if you're laid off (many 457 holders have to go straight home, while you would be in the clear with DIMIA if your employer terminated you).

After 2 years with in Australia RSMS you can apply for Australian citizenship like any other PR.

Children born to RSMS holders in Australia are automatically Australian citizens (this is not true for children of either SIR or 457 visas).


SIR is a 'last resort' visa option for those with no other solution.

If you can find an employer keen to sponsor for RSMS (or ENS) then go for that and forget about SIR. Unless you have a special reason to want to be on a temporary visa.

Jeremy

JAJ

You would need a professional to assess what chances you might have of a regular ENS visa given your circumstances.

You don't say what your age is - if you are under 45 there's no specific age issue for employer visas. Over 45s do have a problem, although DIMIA will normally waive the age limit for many nurses applying for RSMS.

If close to 45 - get professional assistance.



April 9th 2005?

Employer visas are usually fairly quick provided the requirements are met and things are properly handled. But all you need to throw a spanner in the works is a health issue that needs investigating, or someone in the family has worked in a country where police/background checking takes ages (eg the Middle East) and all the usual timescales can go out the window.

It depends on the employer. Something you need to negotiate if offered the job (like other things - who will pay moving/relocation expenses?)

Yes it is. But see my comments above about the obligation to make a genuine effort to work for sponsoring employer for 2 years.

Jeremy

jimtrish

JAJ,

Thanks for all your info. Im 35 and 36 in feb, all of us are fit and healthy as far as im aware and none of us have worked abroad. Kids are all well and the only thing that anyone suffers with is my 9 year old having inhalers for asthma.
From what I gather my points would be about 115 when qualifed on 9th april 05, so from the info ive been give ENS would be out as I dont have the experience to offer 3 years post-reg, but hopefully RSMS would be the one for us.What do you reckon?
Also is it unreasonable to ask employer for help with the costings, as dont want to sound pushy?
Do you think we stand a chance given the info ive given you for the RSMS visa? and if we start the ball rolling in april when do you reckon we could reasonably expect to get the final go-ahead? (I know there are never any definates in this world but lets just pretend there are no hick-ups )
Also have you heard anything about 1st contact migration agents?

Many thanks

Trish