I finally received my Australian skills assessment results and I am happy to announce that it was approved. I received my approval letter last week on 15 April 2008.

It did take about 3 months but I am sure it would have been faster if not for the delays. If you’re reading this, send in certified true copies of documents instead of the originals. I had a few original copies of references letters and I submitted one of them to the Australian Computer Society and they were rejected. Extremely inflexible if you ask me.

Now that I have the green light to submit my application for the Skilled - Sponsored visa, I have about 3 application forms to fill up, AUD $2060 to pay to the Australian government for the application fee and some other paperwork to do.

In my process of applying for this visa, I have learnt that some of the common myths of emigration out of Singapore are absolutely untrue.

1. Myth no. 1: You must have a degree to emigrate to Australia. This is not true at all. I only have a Diploma and it is enough. If you don’t have formal qualifications, you need to prove to them that you have related work experience.
2. Myth no. 2: A migration agent is necessary and they can get your application approved faster. Rubbish. I went to a migration agent because I didn’t know what to do at first. Then the migration agent I went to told me which visa I can qualify for and what are the documents I need to prepare. However, I did not follow up with the migration agent because I did think paying him SGD $4000 for filling up forms was a good investment. Read the instructions carefully and do it yourself. The Australian government does not give applicants priority if they submitted through a migration agent. Save that money to move your stuff or pets over to your new country instead.
3. Myth no. 3: Your skills have to be on the “in demand” list of occupations. My chosen profession was not in the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL). That does not mean that they don’t want you.
4. Myth no. 4: Places like Melbourne and Sydney are “full” and it would be hard to migrate there. I am not so sure about this but I do know that there is a labour shortage problem in Western Australia. Common sense tells you that they need more people in that area. The Australian government is issuing an additional 6000 visa this year for skilled migrants. Obviously, they want and need more skilled people in Australia. If your plan is to migrate to the eastern side, get to Western Australia first and move to the east. Unless your visa is for a “designated area”, there isn’t any restriction on you to move around within Australia.

Even Lee Kuan Yew once stated that most Singaporeans cannot leave. This is nonsense. A more accurate assumption would be that most Singaporeans can leave but they won’t. You do not have to be the “top 20 to 30 per cent of educated Singaporeans have the skills and abilities to emigrate to anywhere in the world”.

I once believed I was not able to emigrate out of Singapore because I listened to friends and relatives who knew nothing about how to do it. You should not listen to these unqualified people like I did. Instead, go to immi.gov.au and check out the requirements yourself and visit a qualified Australian migration agent that has free consultation.

Tagged As: australia, Australian Computer Society, Migration Occupations in Demand List, MODL, singapore emigration

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I have decided to apply to migrate to Australia again. I have been putting in the initial steps to get myself out of Singapore for good. My previous migration attempt failed because the relationship between my mum and his brother, who is an Australian citizen, broke down about 2 years ago when they had an argument over their mum’s money. I was hoping he could “sponsor” me in my application but it was not to be.

I went to visit an Australian migration agency and I was told that I could get an Australian permanent residence visa because my younger sister is currently living and studying in Perth, Australia. My little sister was born in Australia and therefore she is a citizen of Australia. She recently moved to Perth to start her veterinarian course earlier this year. What that means for me is she is eligible to “sponsor” me via the “Skilled Sponsored” visa scheme.

I initially wanted to hire an Australian migration agent to help me through the process. However, once I consulted a few agents and got a feel of what the whole process would be like, I decided it would be so much better if I do it myself and save up to SGD $4000 - $6000 + in agency fees. It is just a lot of simple but troublesome paperwork, which can be confusing if you do not read the instructions properly.

The first steps of my migration plan are:

1. Take an IELTS General Training English Exam - Hey! I passed this with an overall score of 8.0/10. This exam cost me SGD $300 to take at the British Council. You need an overall score of 7.0/10 and above to be considered proficient in English. Therefore, I will be awarded the maximum number of points for the English proficiency requirements of my visa application.
2. Get certified true copies of my passport, birth certificates, army discharge letters, qualifications etc.
3. Get a statutory declaration of my self-employment status for the past 3 years, detailing the activities I did on a daily basis.
4. Get reference letters from my previous employers.
5. Update my resume.
6. Take some new photographs of myself.
7. Submit my skills assessment application to the Australian Computer Society (AUD $350).

This process could take 2-3 months to complete. I need to get my skills assessed by the Australian Computer Society and pass me IELTS English Exam before I can apply for my “Skilled Sponsored” visa. The visa application should take about 7 months. The entire process could take any where from 10 months to 1 year or more.

I am now stuck at the reference letters part. I need 3 reference letters from my 3 previous employers. I hope I get them as soon as possible because it has been dragging on for more than 3 weeks now. Once I have my reference letters, I will be able to submit my skills assessment application without further delay.

I can’t live in Singapore any longer. I feel like I would regret it for the rest of my life if I spent any more of my precious time in Singapore, which I do not consider a first world country no matter what Lee Kuan Yew says. “From 3rd to 1st World Country in One Generation” - Yeah right! First world countries are democratic, have minimum wage laws, fair elections and respect for their citizens’ rights. My country has none of these characteristics so I am not calling it a first world country because it would be making a mockery of all the true first world countries in the world.

Tagged As: australia, australia computer society, IELTS English Exam, migration, migration agency, migration agent, perth, reference letters, resume, skills assessment, statutory declaration

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