__stella__

Hi, I'm new to the forum and finding it very informative. I've got a 12 month plan in place to get myself to Oz ideally with a PR visa. I'm a little concerned as I spoke very briefly to a representative from WA Health at a seminar in Birmingham today and she told me it would be very difficult to get a PR visa as a nurse. She didn't elaborate and I wish I had questioned her as to why but I was aware she had a massive queue to speak to her! She advised the 457 sponsored. Ideally I'd prefer a PR visa from the off to allow me to travel Oz and work agency as I go. Is that actually possible??

Grayling

She was talking rubbish. If you are under 45 and have experience and no health issues it is pretty easy to get PR as a nurse.

The reason they push 457 visas is because it ties you to a particular employer.

Getting PR gives you many more options and it means you don' have to stay in a crap job because you are tied to them.

__stella__

Thank you so much Grayling! She literally had put a dampner on my day! 13yrs experience, 10 of which are a&e and 36yrs old so not quite over the hill yet! Although I wouldn't knock back the chance of a 457 if that was the only choice I had and I'd be grateful for it but like you said I don't want to be tied to a crappy job. What I originally thought was applying for the 189 which is the one that would give me that freedom??

genorm

Agree with Grayling, although many O/S look for 457 as it offers security and a path to eventual PR. Something you also need to consider is that you need to be started working (under a 457) before your 46th birthday, as the cut off point for PR is 50. So you could go on a 457 only to find out you are too old to get PR, and your only option is to return home.

Another point worth considering is that WA is not the hot bed of O/S nurse recruitment that it was up until 18 months ago. If you are going to Australia, you should keep your options open, and PR facilitates this.

old.sparkles

You need to check this advice. I don't think there is any guaranteed path from 457 to PR. There is the possibility that an employer will sponsor a 457 holder for PR, which can be done when an employee has worked for a minimum of 2 years as a temporary worker - but I don't think there is any obligation on an employer to sponsor to PR.

A 457 is a temporary visa that is valid for 4 years only. If you lose your job on 457 you have 90 days to find a new employer or leave Australia.

genorm

With our clients, there is a commitment to going on and sponsoring PR after the qualifying period. As you say, however, there is no obligation. But if the sponsoring hospital decides after 2 years not to pursue the PR option, the employee can seek a new sponsor to take over the remaining 2 years of the 457.

However, more and more, there is evidence that employing a Registered Migration Agent helps to avoid some of the vagaries of Australian Visa issues.

Pollyana

Many nurses who go out on 457s have an provisional offer of PR as long as they prove themselves first. I know a lot who have come on 457s and then been sponsored for PR after anything from 6 months to 2 yearsa. The only reason for not sponsoring straightaway is that there are so many nurses about that the employers want to be sure the person is worth sponsoring

Alan Collett

Maybe a 457 visa to get you to Australia relatively quickly?

Then take control of your own destiny by applying once you are in Australia for a general skilled visa under subclass 189 - assuming you have sufficient points - failing which maybe a State Sponsored 190 visa.

That strategy would also allow you to look at the modified skills assessment with ANMAC (no IELTS test needed), given you would be already registered with AHPRA.

See also: <snip>

Best regards.

genorm

Is a 457 all that much faster than PR these days Alan?

__stella__

Ideally I would like to try for PR straight off as my thoughts are it would give me the freedom to see the country and work at the same and I wouldn't be tied down to a job straight off. It would mean doing the English test to boost my points to the 60 required. Also correct me if I'm wrong, should I be successful with a 457 visa, would that tie me down to a specific start date with the employer? I'd hate to think 12 months down the line when I plan to go, if something were to cause a delay this end in me getting to Oz, would that jeopardise the whole visa? Again I'm thinking PR would allow for that flexibility? If I were unsuccessful with PR would that then affect a request for 457? Apologies for the abundance of questions! I really want to get things right first time!

old.sparkles

It would depend on the reason that a PR application failed. Overclaiming points can lead to a ban - as would any evidence of fraud. Failing for medical reasons would likely affect future applications.

If you have a successful skills assessment, have enough points and satisfy all criteria there is no reason for a PR refusal.

If you are English speaking, IELTS is not too difficult but worth familiarising yourself with the tests.

A 457 application must be sponsored by an employer, and they would want to tie you to a general start date I would think.

Alan Collett

Hi Dave.

In short: yes - usually.

So long as all parties are pulling in the same direction ...

Best regards.

Alan Collett

To stella: remember that you have to do an Academic version of the IELTS for ANMAC, which is of a higher standard than the General version.

Maybe worthwhile talking out your visa options and what each pathway involves with an advisor?

Best regards.

Nurse Becky

Hi I am New to these forums and just looking for some advice after receiving conflicting information at the Down Under Live Expo in Birmingham at the weekend.

I am a fully Registered Adult Nurse with a BSc HONS Degree, I currently work on an Elderly Medical ward however my degree allows me to work in any field/ward of nursing I choose. The WA government lady (who was really rather rude) informed me that I was classed as a "General" Nurse and that there was no way for me to enter the country as Western Australia does not "want or need" general nurses. This lady was pretty rude to my partner and myself and made me feel as though my profession was not good enough.
On leaving this stand upset as it has always been my dream to move to WA I came across a emigration agent who informed me that I was not the first visitor to her stand that she had upset and told they would not be welcome in WA. They emailed me a visa evaluation and have stated that I would be classed as a Nurse NEC which is on the skills list?

Now moving forward with my application options I am unsure as how to proceed not knowing in which category I am classed?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated and I hope that this is the correct forum for this enquiry apologies if it is not as I said I am a newby

Thank you
Becky

genorm

Hi Becky,

Sorry to hear you found a rude rep of the WA government to speak to - but the advice she has given, whilst curt, holds some truth.

After being the "emigration capital" for a while, WA has fallen behind and has almost moved to zero opportunity for nurses from overseas.

The tern for a "Registered Nurse" in Australia is "Registered General Nurse" (as opposed to specialists such as midwives for example. What she has failed to do is to link your RGN status with your clinical experience. I for one would like to view that.

It's unlikely that you will obtain a position with sponsorship within WA Health in Perth, however, there are alternatives in both Public and Private sector hospitals.

If you care to send me your CV, i will speak to my contacts in Australia with a view to providing a proper assessment of your potential.

My email address is in my signature - there is no obligation on your part to use my services beyond that.

Good Luck with your quest.