Post submitting forms to ACS: Are you just waiting?

Post submitting forms to ACS: Are you just waiting?

If you have given IELTS and submitted your papers for ACS approval what else is there to do but to wait for the approval? Well it is not yet time to relax. There are few things that you should start doing now. Below are few:

1.       Your agent must have told you to get PCC for the stage 2. You need to get PCC from all the countries you have been to for more than a year. All other countries are easy. For example for USA all you need to do is fill a credit card form and send your fingerprints to them. You will get the PCC within a month. Now for India:

a.       If you got your passport from the city where you live, you are good to go. Go online and fill in the forms for appointment for Mini eseva centre and get your PR.

b.      BUT if your passport is from one city and you live in other city and you are thinking to get it done from this city, you are in trouble already. There are two ways:

                                                               i.      Apply in the city you live and get your PCC in 3-6 months after a lot of circles around Commissioner Office and RPO.

                                                             ii.      Apply in the city from where your passport is and go back for inspection. This needs to set the timing right but it is lot more easy, believe me.  

All in all get your PCC before you get into second stage of submission.

2.       You must be aware that the rules have been changed for the Australia PR. Before you get visa stamped, you need to have a job. Oooo… How do we do that? The only friend which can help you make this easy is make friends. Network the hell out of facebook and linkedIN.

a.       Facebook: Find as many as friends you can find in Australia. You not need to ask them about jobs yet, just talk to them casually, and keep them aware that you are alive. When the time is right you can ask them to spread your resume. Ask them to give you a recommendation.

b.      LinkedIN: How important is LinkedIN? I would say it is one of the most important tool to get job in Australia. HR here very nice and like to build good network, so

                                                               i.      Join groups which HR here has joined. So, go to their profiles and look for what groups they have joined, like; IT Australia Jobs, QA in Australia and many more.

                                                             ii.      Send them add request with a nice message using these groups.

                                                            iii.      Get connected with maximum number of people on LinkedIN. Make your profile neat and nice.

                                                           iv.      If you can – get a video resume done in India and post that as a link in your profile.

c.       Trainings – It may happen that you are from some stream of work which is not very popular in here. Get trained in India, it is cheaper and you can practice for another 6-10 months before you appear in an interview.

d.      Get Certificates for your respective steam, like ISTQB for testing or PMP or PRINCE2 for management.

What I want to say is your time is too precious to waste in sitting at home. Even if you do not make it to Australia, this network, training and certificate will help you in future. No hard work goes to waste.

Best of luck –Hope to see you soon in Australia!

Note: This is just an experience that I am sharing and no one should take this as a guide or set rules. You are responsible for your own decisions so make it wisely.

First Step for PR filling - IELTS

First Step for PR filling - IELTS

A general logic says, file for ACS and wait for their response. Is it that easy? Yes it is easy for someone to just say it but there is a lot that you need to prepare. Everyone will have their own challenges. The biggest challenge is:

You need letter from all the companies that you have worked in the past. The letter should state your job description and should be on a company letter head, authorised by HR and Manager. I think it is easy to get from previous companies but it hard to get from current organisation. How do you tell your manager that you are applying for PR? He will know that you are leaving soon. (Contact me via email, if want some advice on this – I might be able to help you with hush hush ideas)

NOW – Do you think this should be your first step? I would say NO. My advice is taking IELTS first. Get your score right. I don’t think it is a good idea to spend time and money on these things unless you get IELTS score of 7 and above in all.

IELTS – The preparation is not very hard. Spend few days in doing the practice test, which are available on various sites. There are various tests available and you should do as much as possible. Save three tests just for last three days before the test and do them for the first time just in last three days. Do NOT get demotivated if you do not clear in one go, try again.

Below are two links which I like. Save the second one for last, this is much closure and always updated with new pattern of paper:

http://www.ielts-exam.net/index.php?optionid=15&Itemid=64

http://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/prepare-test/free-practice-tests

I am sure you will be able to do it. After all we all know how to speak, read and write English J. Your spouse also need to get at least 5 in each so may be that should also be a point to note.

Other than IELTS, go to seek.com.au and search for your job profile. Look how many jobs are there for your profile and your spouse’s profile.

Estimate your cost of living:

1.       Go to http://www.realestate.com.au/rent and find out how much apartments cost for the place where you want to live.
Apartments is Melbourne cost somewhere between 1100 (unfurnished-in some suburb) to 1800(furnished in city) - 1 BHK

2.       A regular life of a couple can be lived in the city from a big range of 3000-4500 as per your needs.

I am not going to explain what agents explain and tell you what documents you need for ACS and other stuff. I am going to tell you what you can do to make the process smother and better. I will keep writing about other things. You can also post comments on my blog to ask questions as much as you want. I will try and answer it from my experience.

Best of luck –Hope to see you soon in Australia!

Note: This is just an experience that I am sharing and no one should take this as a guide or set rules. You are responsible for your own decisions so make it wisely.

Now that you have decided !!!

Now that you have decided !!!

If you are reading this blog, more likely than not, you have decided to go for the migration. Now what? What should be your first step?

1.       Should I go to an agent?

2.       Should I talk to a friend?

3.       Or just keep googleing…

Before you take any more step further, wait read if you are eligible -  http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/points-test.htm

There is an option for you to file for yourself without an agent. Which is a good option and can save you a lot, may be like 50K or more. You have so many questions which can be answered by many people, including myself. However

• Every case is different, for example say you have 4 years of experience and your wife has 3.5 years of experience. You are in software testing and your wife is in Development. You can get PR for a state and your wife can get PR of country (I will explain about this in detail later –remind me if I forget  J ). Decision’s like these can come very handy with agent.
• On top of it, you may get some questions back for immigration and agents defiantly know how to answer better.
• There will be so many forms and you can just fill it in rough and agent will handle it all.
• There are things like which document to get translated in English? What document to send, what not to send and many more, these will come very handy for sure, with an agent.

If you decide to do by yourself, be through with your documents and take intensive care.There are plenty of agents to go for. I like the services of “Abhinav”. The office in Hyderabad is great and they are very responsive. You may choose whichever agent you want though.

Don’t delay, make a call today and set an appointment. There are few things you should ask to the agent:

1.       Who should apply – you or your spouse?

2.       What category to apply for? (http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/25skilled_categories.htm#b)

3.       Should I go for independent PR or State sponsorship?

4.       What are the new and changed rules?

5.       How long it will take in your case? (approx.)

In most of the cases for Australia, Agents do no provide the services of post migration. If you find an agent who does that, please share so that others can get benefited as well.

There is a lot to do after you come back from the meeting with agent. Once done with the discussion with Agent read my next blog to understand the priorities to set for the process.

Best of luck –Hope to see you soon in Australia!

Note: This is just an experience that I am sharing and no one should take this as a guide or set rules. You are responsible for your own decisions so make it wisely.

Shall we put the 'Thinking cap'

Thinking cap!

This blog is for people who want to migrate to Australia for work (especially in IT). From this blog you will know the hurdles in getting PR, migration, job search in Australia and some solutions that you can frame beforehand.  The solutions are from my own experience or from my friends who have successfully migrated.

You remember the time when you were deciding to select the subjects after 10^th grade. I remember vividly. I was so confused between maths and commerce. I was a kid back then and it was a life altering decision. I am glad I picked maths, may be because of that I am in the place where I am. I am for sure happy. Now if you are planning to migrate to some other country (like AUSTRALIA) from India I imagine you will be in same dilemma. My blog cannot decide for you but can help you make a better decision.

There are few things you should think of:

ü  Are you ready to move to a new country, where you might have to start your career again?

ü  Are you ready to put your money in a place from where it may never come back?

ü  What are you looking for from this migration

o   Money?

o   Better life?

o   Fun in life?

o   Better education & future for your kids?

Do all the balances before you commit to this migration. Here are my points for above questions:

ü  Are you ready to move to a new country, where you might have to start your career again?

o   If you have spent 5-7 years in IT industry already, you are most likely becoming a leader of small/big team or even better if you are already a Team lead. Things are going to change back. You will be an analyst again (most likely). Australia’s market demand for “local” experience. Which is not possible if you have never worked here? Is it impossible to get a job here? No!

ü  Are you ready to put your money in a place from where it may never come back?

o   There is a possibility that after you put all you money into migration, like fee, notary, agent fee, PCC, IELTS and few more, you may never get the PR or it may get to ‘Oh Hold’ status. This is less likely in the case of Australia if all your documents and experience is honest and as per the eligibility for your case.

ü  What are you looking for from this migration

o   Money?

§  If you and your wife both work and earn good money in India and if only one of you could get job in Australia, you should not be surprised that you will save almost the same money. However if you both can get a job in here you will save a lot. So plan if you both can work here or not? (Things will be different if you already have a kid or if you are planning for a kid.)

o   Better life?

§  What is your definition of better life? If you are living in a 2/3 BHK in a good city and have a small car in India, more likely than not in short term planning you will end up living in a 1BHK or even a studio with no car in Australia. Things will change in future though, so nothing to be sad of. You just have to be ready for this change (temporary for a year or bit more)

o   Fun in life?

§  I will be honest; life is more fun in India, because unlike what we may think, money cannot buy happiness. There are more friends in India, family in India. The clubs and restaurants are more customized for us.

o   Better education & future for your kids?

§  I don’t know about it, as I don’t have kids yet. I have heard people always talk about it, saying that they want to move back to India once their kids are in school as education is better in India and they don’t want their kids to learn social behaviours of ‘western culture’ so that is totally your call.

Think about all this, if you think you are ready to commit lets read the next one…

Best of luck –Hope to see you soon in Australia!

Note: This is just an experience that I am sharing and no one should take this as a guide or set rules. You are responsible for your own decisions so make it wisely.