Bjoernman

hi forum,

first of all, im glad that i found such a forum.

i have got a question to the work experience which i need to demonstrate for the skilled independent visa (175).

i work as a registered nurse in aged care. i work exactly 80 hours per month. as i know the requirement for the siv is at least 20 hours per week.
but the problem is that i don`t work exactly 20 hours per week but one week 16 hours another week 24 hours and so on.
in the end, my average is 20 hours per week with 80 hours per month worked (divided by 4 weeks).
is it possible that i get any problems when i apply for the siv(175)? or do the diac accept the average 20 hours requirement?

thank you very much

bjoern

Lyx

Only problem that I can forsee is that there are more than 4 weeks in a month.
If you work 80 hours over a 4 week period then it would probably work out. A few nurses I know have emigrated successfully and their contracted hours were 75 a fortnight.

Bjoernman

hi lyx,

yes i had the same thought about the month and 4 weeks period.
but what you are saying is a little bit soothing - i mean that there really are nurses who got their visa with even 75 hours per month.
Do you still know when they got their visa, i mean which year? and did they apply for a 175 (skilled independent visa)?

thank you

bjoern

Bjoernman

it really would be interesting which experience other people have made or which knowledge they have about that subject.

so please tell me.

Lyx

It was 75 hours per fortnight that they worked not per month. But they worked 7 days on 7 days off, so there were weeks when they worked 0 hours - if you know what I mean, but I guess it all balances out in the end. Any overtime or bank shifts that you can prove counts towards your 20 hours a week too.

Bjoernman

yeah i hope so. if i have a look at my schedule it does balance out in the end as well. but if the nurses you know got their visa then me too should not have any problems (hopefully).which type of visa did they got?

btw, ielts is actually the hardest problem

thanks a lot lyx

bjoern

Lyx

They went out PR. I showed proof of my working hours via a letter from my employer it just stated my contracted hours and the dates of employment. Maybe your employer will put 20 hours a week on the letter to save any potential problems.
When do you sit IELTS?
I did the advanced test on Saturday so I'm waiting for the results (patiently)before I can press on with my DIAC application.

Bjoernman

i reckon that with the letter from my employer should not create any problem.
i will take (resit actually) the test in the first 3 months of 2010. should give quite enough time to practice - actually my only problem is the writing, everything else i passed already.

thanks for your answer
good luck to you (the ielts shouldn`t have been a problem for you, should have it ? )

bjoern

Morko

Hi,

if you don't know it by now...just give it a shot. That helped me over the writing hurdle: http://www.writefix.com/ GL

Cheers,


Morko (German Nurse as well)

Lyx

LOL. It shouldn't have been a problem but it was rather tough. Hats off to anyone who doesn't have English as a first language and achieves band 7. If your looking for practise material I used the Peter May IELTS practise tests book. Got it off Amazon and it was very close to the real thing, really prepared me for the test.

tiredwithtwins

hiya,
DIAC are now very strict and your statement from your employer has to clearly state how many hours you work per week. It has to be more than 20 per week - they wont accept 'average' hours, and i think now even dont accept paid maternity leave/long sick leave as 'hours worked'. But that is for 12 out of the previous 24 months, so you have a couple of years to play with. From my previous employer (ive just started a perm job in the nhs to get my hours up) I have a statement that shows each work how many hours i worked - they did a print out of 29 pages that show all the shifts ive done and stamped and signed them
Im having to work my hours up too ... thats what the countdown in my signature is

itsmylife

Ooooh these working hours have been a real pain to me. I had been intending to apply in Feb 2008, but due to maternity leave and a period of related illness (which definitely do not count towards worked hours) , resulting in me returning at 16 1/2 hrs per week initially, I was too close to the 12 months out of 24 months and ran the risk of being refused... So for the last year and a half I have worked 20 hours (some weeks more) per week so that there can be no question about my hours. Typical that now I meet the hours requirement the ANMC and state nursing councils have brought in the IELTS test and now we are going to be delayed even further!!!

Working hours is definitely something to seek professional advice on, it was based on the advice of an agent I talked to at an emmigration expo that we decided to hold off until I was 100% sure I met the requirements - after all the immigration process costs a lot of money. I would suggest that you contact an agent who should be able to give you a definitive answer. for you

tiredwithtwins

hiya, yeah its a real pain in the a### having to do the ielts test isnt it!?
the advice about getting an agents opinion is good; i spoke to john sylvester at gomatilda a few years ago about the working hours thing, and the info i put in my post is from him - from what i can gather they are very strict about everyone meeting the criteria, theres no leeway with nurses any more (4 or 5 years ago, they would let nurses through even if they didnt meet the criteria - if i could remember thier usernames id post a link to their timelines)
sue x