charlie-k

Hi,
I found the reading part of the test difficult at first as I hadn't learned to 'skim and scan' 1/2 a mark short so had to resit. Second time round and LOTS of practice I managed a 9.0 Everything else I found easy. Concentration can be a problem in the listening module, writing ok - letter to write and topic to discuss, speaking - well I can speak for England like most women can so no problems there either.
Are you going to sit yours or have you done it already? or don't you need it?

tiredwithtwins

i have to sit it but not got round to it yet ... but will be doing some time in the next 6 months or so - still trying to get my hours up at work!

itsmylife

so do they contact you if you have to do the english language test? what I mean is, they wouldn't refuse a visa just cause you haven't had one done at time of application?

dandan1

Hi, Sue. I'm applying for the 175 because we felt it gave me more choice job wise and also we want the move to be a permanent one,(all being well). And I'm going to need all the luck I can get for the IELTS test, thanks!!!

dandan1

Most people take the test for the extra 10 points. I,m 42 so fall 5 points short of the 120 therefore I have to take the test:curse: If you are younger you shouldn't have to. You need to calculate how many points you have before applying to avoid any delay. But, you don't need it at all for the ANMC

Tracey

itsmylife

I'm 27, and other half is 28, so we have that on our side...

dandan1

I was 27 when I tried talking my husband into living in Oz. It's taken this long for him to come round....only now he thinks it was his idea!:curse:

itsmylife

aaah ... but just think, you've managed to convince him that it was his idea when actually it was your idea all along... its a skill that! I frequently have to do that with my husband... I've been talking about it since I qualified, but our holiday last year in Australia was enough to convince him thankfully!

tiredwithtwins

yes im in the same boat with the age thing and having to do the ielts ... rediculous situation isnt it?:curse:

dandan1

You're telling me. People could die if I couldn't communicate effectively at work and here I am having to prove I'm profficient at English for God's sake:curse: I'm getting completely stressed out about it but I know I'm not the only one annoyed at having to do it. I'm doing mine on the 16th - will let you know how it went.

Tracey

charlie-k

How many hours do you work?
I'm sure you will be aware of this but just in case: you need to have worked "... a minimum of 20 hours a week for a period of 12 months within the previous 24 months..."
If you calculate your average hours over 24 months, does it work out to 20 hours a week?

(P.S it went up from 12 months to 24 months September 1st 2007 - this extra year will help with your average hours)

itsmylife

This is something I really wish they would clarify - how these 20 hours can be accumulated - if it can be an average, or if it has to be 52 weeks at 20 hours. Also wish it stated if sick leave was included (though I doubt it as they say that maternity leave is not covered). By July (when I intend on puting in my application for visa), I will just have scraped together 52 weeks of 20 hours in 2 years, but its going to be a pain to prove, as my pay slips are a bit confusing with Maternity leave being on it, and some sick leave, also half a month working 20 hours, and the other half on 16.5 hrs. The only way I can see to prove this is for me to write out the exact weeks that I worked 20 hours, and get my ward manager to verify them by signing it.

charlie-k

Usually HR can work it out for you, then they can write a letter of confirmation.

tiredwithtwins

re the weekly hours, the statement of employment has to explicitly state exact hours worked; eg if you work in a substantive post, hr need to just state ''so and so has worked on a continuous paid employment basis, at 24 hours per week since 12/12/02 (or whatever date)''
if like me and lots of other nurses who have successfully gained visas you only work part time and top up your hours with agency, your reference/statement of employmetn needs to be explicit in your hours, even if it means going on for pages and pages; you could work for 3 agencies, doing a shift with each - you just need to plainly show how you have accumulated 20+hours per week for the required number of weeks. an old poster, lynnlovessun, did this by compiling an offduty sheet with the number of hours per shift per week for each employer - for her it was an nhs trust and an agency, plus bank. you would then show a weekly accumulated number of hours, with references/statements of employment from employers stating the list as a true record of the hours worked. she just did one for each employer who then signed and stamped it as a true record of her hours - she got her visa no probs.

its fiddly and time consuming but can be done and has been successfully done many times in the past. unless the rules have changed regarding how you accumulate your hours - which im certain they havent - then you should be ok.

just thought of anohter nurse whos name escapes me, she got her agency to literally list the hours she worked every week in following format;
w/c 1/1/01 - 15
w/c 8/1/01 - 10
etc etc,
then got her other employer who was nhs to do the same ... and she got her visa no probs.

about 4 or 5 years ago there were nurses who managed to get their pr visas having only worked 15 or so hrs a week ... but they have well and truly tightened the net since then!!!

just edited to say, it cannot be averaged hours - it has to be clearly stated weekly the hours worked.
we got this info a couple of years ago from john sylvester at gomatilda ... i cant 100% vouch for its current acceptability with dimia but im sure if anyone knows any different they will be along to put me right

itsmylife

thanks for that, I was going to do it in date format

17/1/06 - 17/7/06 - Maternity Leave
17/7/06- 17/1/07 - 20 hours
17/1/07- 17/9/07 - sick
17/9/07-5/11/07 - 20 hours
5/11/07-5/3/08 - 16.5 hours
5/3/08 - present - 20 hours

thats not the right dates, but the general thing I was thinking (though obviously over the 2 years as opposed to more than that that I have highlighted above!), and something that my ward manager could sign - she would be more able to verify exact hours worked each week than HR to be honest, as there were some weeks that I did extra which would count towards this total

Its a while off for me anyhow at the moment, but want to be sure that I get this all right in my head so I don't make any mistakes. I think I might even contact an agent before going ahead with my main visa just for a consultation about these hours just incase... will see how it goes.

thanks again, this forum is great to share all this stuff!

Angela