British Officers - NSW Police - any info/experience?
 

Evening/morning all,

Apologies for the lengthy post!

I am interested in moving permanently to Australia, particularly the Sydney area, and working as a Police Officer.

First post so firstly, to say Hello. I'm a currently a serving British Police officer in a county force in the south of England. My partner is a registered nurse and she has gone through the initial eligibility sift for a permanent residency visa (skilled migrant) and have been invited to apply. (twice)

Based on this and having done a fair amount of research, it's fair to say I am confident she (we) have a good chance of being accepted.

I am aware some Australian forces (WA/SA in particular) have a history of recruiting from the UK, however, as we have family/friends in the Sydney area this is our preferred destination as we feel it will be a little easier to settle, and also by obtaining PR it means not having to depend on/wait for forces opening up internationally.

As some of you may be aware, NSW Police recruit entry is done in collaboration with Charles Sturt University and I'm wondering if anyone on here has been through/going through this process and if anyone has any experience of working with/for NSW Police as an Expat.


The NSW Police site is apparently in the process of being redesigned as such, it dosen't have anything (that I can find) regarding international applicants, (I understand they recruit well locally) although I am more than willing to go via the standard recruit entry if needed.


Any information is greatly appreciated!

Re: British Officers - NSW Police - any info/experience?
 

Hi there Cowb88 and welcome to BE :welcome:

I can't help with the police question, but have you actually applied for a visa? If your EOI is selected twice and you don't make an application, it is removed from the pool.

Re: British Officers - NSW Police - any info/experience?
 

Hi there thanks for the reply
The first time we spoke with immigration was just via the embassy who told us that based on her skills we would have a decent chance at getting the visa.

We then submitted an EOI but only had initial contact from them once after this- (explained that my partner wanted 6 months more work experience here prior to applying as she has not been in her profession for very long post-qualification)

To be honest I'm not sure if the EOI is still live - would it be an issue if we may have to submit this again?

Re: British Officers - NSW Police - any info/experience?
 

No, you can resubmit an EOI if it has been withdrawn. If your partner has enough points for a visa, has she also had her skills assessed? An EOI is not valid without a skills assessment. If she has and you do apply for a visa, the process takes some time from invitation to visa grant (and times vary with each applicant) and once granted you have some time to make an initial validation trip. Once validated a visa is valid for 5 years from time of issue. So if the reason for not applying is the need for more experience, your OH will be able to gain this whilst waiting for a grant.

Re: British Officers - NSW Police - any info/experience?
 

Hi Cowb88.
Once you have your permanent residency visa through your partner you can apply to any police force in Oz (with the exception of AFP). You won't have to apply under an international stream, just the process any one else eligible to work in Oz would have to go through.
As far as I'm aware WAPol and SAPol are the only forces which recognise prior experience. With the others you would have to do the full academy course like a raw recruit.
I'm sure I read that NSW expects prospective recruits do 3 months as their equivalent of a special before applying, but don't quote me. I found their website quite poor regarding how their recruiting process works.
All the best.

Re: British Officers - NSW Police - any info/experience?
 

NSW Police do (or did do) a lateral entry program. This is/was aimed at interstate applicants with previous police experience, but I don't see why an international applicant with the relevant PR couldn't apply.

Re: British Officers - NSW Police - any info/experience?
 

Thanks for the reply geordiebloke. The other Australian forces all accept Brit officers if they have PR status, so I would assume NSW do aswell. I just couldn't find the info on their website, or even an email contact. I'm going to have to bite the bullet and phone them!