Visa Application

I'm sure that most of you could figure out how to apply for a visa but I thought I'd give you a wee bit of chat about all the forms you need and hoops you have to jump through if you are thinking of coming to work in Oz.

For the medics out there, I went with an agency International Medical Recruitment and they will tell you what forms you need and when to have them in by. However, if you decide to go independantly then the chat below applies to you to.

First let me point out that it doesn't matter how far ahead you start applying, there will still be hiccups along the way. At least if you have things sorted out in advance then you have time to fix any problems you encounter. I recommend 5 - 6 months to sort out all the stuff at home e.g. what you are going to do with your flat etc here, and at least 3 for the visa (more if you have to wait for contacts and stuff from the job you are going to).

So here are the forms you will need which are all available from the DIMA Website. I should point out that since 1st October 2006 a lot of the forms have changed and some of these may no longer be relevant or exist. In that case, you'll just have to sift through the DIMA Website to find what you need.

Form 26.
This is the one that you need for your medical examination. There are a few subclasses of this so make sure you fill in the correct one. Here is a list of the approved Doctors and Radiologists that will perform your examination and your chest x-ray. The examination cost about £150 depending upon your requirements e.g Medics have to pay more as they require additional blood tests.

Form 160
This is the form that gets filled out by the Radiologist after you have had your xray. In Glasgow you have to go to the Nuffield Hospital to have it done and it costs £70

Form 147
This is the actual visa application form. It's pretty self explanatory but does take a while to go through.

Form 80
This is a real pain in the backside to fill out. It's your "Character Assessment" form and there is a bit (section 23) where they expect you to fill out all the places that you've visited in the last 10 years. The easiest thing is just to match up the dates with the ones in your passport and forget about any minor trips to France etc.

Form 47
This is a list of how to get Police Clearance. In Scotland you could use a Disclosure Form but they've done away with that and you have to go o your local police station and ask for a "Subject Access/Person Record obtained under s7 of the Data Protection Act 1998" application form. This cost £10 but beware that it takes 40 days to arrive!

Visa Charges
Of course, you have to pay for the Visa and they are not cheap especially one that allows you to work. If you are independantly moving to Oz to work, make sure you check that the place you are going to will sponsor your Visa of else you'll have to fork out a few thousand dollars for the privelege.

IELTS
You have to provide proof that you can speak the lingo when you want to work in Oz. The above link will take you to the International English Language Testing System website. There is exemption to this if you are from an English speaking country but unfortunately you have to provide proof that your high schooling was in English which meant that I have to dig out all my old Higher Exam certificates and send them with a copy of the exemption form. Each State in Oz has it's own exemption form so you'll have to get a copy of this yourself as I can't find one on the Web.

Bare in mind that there other hidden costs in working in Oz. For medicine you'll have to pay to the State Postgrad Medical Board (about £200 depending on which state). There are a few others but I can't remember what they are so you get to figure those out along the way.

Hope this is useful.

Z

What is a Blog (Parents and Medieval Folk read this!)

OK, so what's a blog I hear you ask. Essentially it's an online diary that I can add stuff to so that you can read about all the things we are doing in Oz. It means that you don't have to put up with all our emails clogging up your in-box but can instead have a read here at your leisure.

The links at the side are useful. You can click on the My Photos one and that'll take you to my online album where you can look at our pictures and video clips from Oz.

Also there is a link saying Call Us Free. That takes you to Skype.com which is a free internet phone company that will allow you lot to make and receive FREE phone calls with your computer instead of a phone. (Mum and Dad I'll set this up for you before I go).

Anyway, if you've any questions then just gimmie a shout.

Z

OZ Stylee

Howdy.

As you know, Isla and I are heading to Oz for a year and I thought I'd start a blog so that you can all keep up to speed with our Oz antics. Hopefully it'll make you a wee bit jealous too!

Z