Congrats mctowel01. This is a proof that 'though it tarries, wait for it is as it will not tarry ....' is a sure saying! Super happy for you bro.



[quote author=mctowel01 post=57044200]Grant Finally.
I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. (Ecclesiastes 9 : 11)

jamson:


More or less, yes. If your bank work is not engineering related, don't bother use it

I am not an engineer but I'd like to ask that if I am not claiming points for work experience, do I still need to do get a positive assessment from vetassess in order to get an invitation to apply. That is if an individual has age 30, qualification 15 and English test 20 can they just skip the vetassess and just go on to submit their application?

Bnimz:
It will. Average total cost for a single applicant is 1.5 - 2 Million Naira depending on the rates you get. You'll have leftover for flight and money to take along sef

That means no shaking for me na. Thanks for the contribution.

Jbelieve:


I am not an engineer but I'd like to ask that if I am not claiming points for work experience, do I still need to do get a positive assessment from vetassess in order to get an invitation to apply. That is if an individual has age 30, qualification 15 and English test 20 can they just skip the vetassess and just go on to submit their application?

You can't skip the foundation to build a sky scrapper.

[quote author=m Aussie, here I come[/quote] Congrats my brother. Congrats again and again to my own ieltstowel.

.

mctowel01:
Grant Finally.
I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. (Ecclesiastes 9 : 11)

Big congrats.

Congrats mctowel1.

May the Lord make the crooked places ahead straight for you as well as for us (aspiring immigrants) too

many congrats Mctowe1


SV

Jbelieve:


I am not an engineer but I'd like to ask that if I am not claiming points for work experience, do I still need to do get a positive assessment from vetassess in order to get an invitation to apply. That is if an individual has age 30, qualification 15 and English test 20 can they just skip the vetassess and just go on to submit their application?

No, you cannot skip the assessment. It is the assessing body that will determine if you can claim 15 points for Education or not.

jayooh:
Quick one people, will all those occupation that have gone pro rata be reset to 60pts come July? Or the rata pro is a continuous something?

Only July can answer that question for sure....

[quote author=mctowel01 post=57044200]Grant Finally

[color=#000099][/color]Congrats to the latest Grant holders in the house@ Mctowel Bnimz et'al. I rejoice with you righteously for I know my Direct Grant is equally around the corner( lodgment date 28/04/2017).

Vinsmuft:

Congrats brotherly!
We don dey plenty for Oz be that.

Na so brother. We dey your back

Royal54:

Congrats Mctowel, am so happy for you. May you be favoured in the land.
So pastors plenty for this thread like this.....

Haha... no be pastoring, but that quote was very unique to me

Good news is sweet to the bones...

Congratulations Mctowel1.. The wait is worth it and all things work together for good....

May you fulfill His purpose in the land.

@mctowel01

Congrats bro

@iceberg54

Bnimz, mctowel01... Your own is sooo around the corner

@mamajaz

I greet u oo.

Congratulations my bro @mctowel01, baba God is definitely with us here. Enter and be granted.

funkyjo:
@mctowel01
Congrats bro
@iceberg54
Bnimz, mctowel01... Your own is sooo around the corner
@mamajaz
I greet u oo.

Maami, tuale ma.

Hello house, honestly I need help. I just created an account with Australia Engineers. But I don't know how to submit my application to EA ?

Chief Mctowel... welcome to Oz sir.

Amen ooo @ Lieutenant jamson and madam funkyjo. Thanks a lot.

Congratulations @ Mctowel01......

Welcome to Oz.

Dear E- Family,

We (Son, Wifey & I) arrived Melbourne on the 25th of May having left Lagos on the Tuesday 23rd. We booked the flight through IOM (certainly the best anyone can have now) 980k compared to the 2m we would have paid if we booked directly.
Booked accomodation through airbnb prior to leaving Nigeria.
Slept throughout Thursday, Finally met @Tysho who has been of tremendous help to us, she came to pick us on Friday, drove us to the bank where we opened bank accounts, stayed till we finished and took us to where we did medicare and centerlink registrations too. She has since been our godmother here giving us guidance on what to do. I call her everytime and she's never tired or rendering assistance from time to time. It's amazing that someone I have never met before and only just contacted here after getting the grant will rise to our help this much..... we appreciate you Sis.
Also finally spoke with the Cheif himself- Bellong, we have always only communicated via mail, a very selfless man still providing the usual guidance.
Went to the clinic for son's immunization records update, they informed us today he will be taking 3 more shots of immunisation.
Will provide more updates on accomodation, job search and others as time goes on.

incemay:
Dear E- Family,

We (Son, Wifey & I) arrived Melbourne on the 25th of May having left Lagos on the Tuesday 23rd. We booked the flight through IOM (certainly the best anyone can have now) 980k compared to the 2m we would have paid if we booked directly.
Booked accomodation through airbnb prior to leaving Nigeria.
Slept throughout Thursday, Finally met @Tysho who has been of tremendous help to us, she came to pick us on Friday, drove us to the bank where we opened bank accounts, stayed till we finished and took us to where we did medicare and centerlink registrations too. She has since been our godmother here giving us guidance on what to do. I call her everytime and she's never tired or rendering assistance from time to time. It's amazing that someone I have never met before and only just contacted here after getting the grant will rise to our help this much..... we appreciate you Sis.
Also finally spoke with the Cheif himself- Bellong, we have always only communicated via mail, a very selfless man still providing the usual guidance.
Went to the clinic for son's immunization records update, they informed us today he will be taking 3 more shots of immunisation.
Will provide more updates on accomodation, job search and others as time goes on.

Congratulations, God bless and prosper you in the land.

Congratulations Mctowel01...

MAY MOTIVATIONS

#BE inspired

leave the #GMPC Lane

#forward #spartans

incemay:
Dear E- Family,

We (Son, Wifey & I) arrived Melbourne on the 25th of May having left Lagos on the Tuesday 23rd. We booked the flight through IOM (certainly the best anyone can have now) 980k compared to the 2m we would have paid if we booked directly.
Booked accomodation through airbnb prior to leaving Nigeria.
Slept throughout Thursday, Finally met @Tysho who has been of tremendous help to us, she came to pick us on Friday, drove us to the bank where we opened bank accounts, stayed till we finished and took us to where we did medicare and centerlink registrations too. She has since been our godmother here giving us guidance on what to do. I call her everytime and she's never tired or rendering assistance from time to time. It's amazing that someone I have never met before and only just contacted here after getting the grant will rise to our help this much..... we appreciate you Sis.
Also finally spoke with the Cheif himself- Bellong, we have always only communicated via mail, a very selfless man still providing the usual guidance.
Went to the clinic for son's immunization records update, they informed us today he will be taking 3 more shots of immunisation.
Will provide more updates on accomodation, job search and others as time goes on.

bolaobby:
To the glory of God, we (My wife and I with our two sons) made it to Melbourne early morning of May 20th having travelled through the emirate airline booked by IOM (Anyone coming should try to book their flight through IOM, we paid N1.2M for a flight that would have cost me N2.6M if am to book it myself).

Anyone comming to Australia between now and August should come with good winter jacket because winter is starting in full swing now, the weather is cold and might be too cold for someone coming from 29 - 33 degrees.
We use the first week for all the necessary registration like Medicare, Centrelink, Bank Account opening, Tax File Number, Phone contract etc. TYOSHO [/b]has already done justice to the process for these registration in her post on [b]page 210.

It was on Saturday that we arrived, was able to open my bank account on Sunday after church service and likewise got a SIM plan with vodafone which offer 300min talk time to Nigeria and 1000 mins talk time to US, UK, Canada, South-Africa with some few others for 45AUD. We also went to the train station to get the Myki card (As posted by Vinsmuft, you need this card to make use of public transport system in Victoria State i.e Bus, Train and Tram).

Getting accommodation is not an easy task for new comer in Melbourne. It is not about the money only,there are so many criteria in use by the estate agent. It is a requirement for you to inspect a house before you can get it and its not easy going for inspection without a personal car because many of the agents fix their inspection around the same period.Secondly, there are many requirement in the application form like pay-slip, bank statement, electricity bill, water bill, gas bill, reference from employer in some cases. Am still house hunting and am getting help from the family we are staying with.

In Melbourne, car is not a luxury, it is a requirement for work. Many job advert will ask you if you have a car, Australian drivers licence. It is a plus if you have the two because you might be on shift outside the public transport working period and some job require your card to perform effectively. Am starting the process for my licence this week by taking the first test. Ensure you come with your Nigeria drivers licence, else the process of getting licence might be longer.

I have completed two training, white card and forklift training. Have also done the police check and working with children check. Am hoping to start something with this before getting the professional job although am more preoccupied with getting accommodation at the moment.

I will update us more in the coming days...Those of us still in the process, don't give up. With the little i have seen, its a worthy adventure

Bnimz:

On this day, the chronology of a successful endeavor reads thus:

24th September 2016 - Wrote IELTS

10th October 2016 - IELTS result - L / R / S / W - 9 / 9 / 7.5 / 7.5
- Submitted for Assessment (EA) Fast Track.
- Booked PTE-A

19th October 2016 - wrote PTE-A

24th October 2016 - PTE-A Result - L / R / S / W - 90 / 90 / 90 / 90

28th October 2016 - Assessor requested a new episode.
- Wrote a new episode and uploaded.

3rd November 2016 - EA Positive Outcome, Electronics Engineer
- EOI submitted - 189 with 60 points

9th November 2016 - Electronics Engineering went Pro-Rata with 65pts
- Booked Medicals

16th November 2016 - Did Medicals..

3rd January 2017 - Electronics Engineering Pro-Rata returned to 60 points

14th February 2017 - ITA received
- Visa Application lodged.

28th February 2017 - CO Contact for already uploaded document.
- Uploaded the document again

26th May 2017 - Grant.

IED - 22nd November 2017


Special thanks to everyone who has contributed to this chapter in the story of my life. I really appreciate.

in conclusion - I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. (Ecclesiastes 9 : 11)

God Bless

MAY MOTIVATIONS

#BE inspired

leave the #GMPC Lane

#forward #spartans

jamson:
Ok folks,

Been itching to come around and drop my memoir. It's been quite a while isn't it? Will be 2 months old in Sydney, Australia in a few days time. I missed you guys no be small

Same same story with medicare, centrelink and Tax file number. Tyosho did justice to those already.

Well, as planned, we hit the Aussie's ground running. Got white card within 3 days of arrival and a forklift license within 2 weeks. On the side I kept applying for the pro job. I got a Forklift job immediately I got the license and the pay wasn't bad for someone who just arrived. Turns out if you want to get a job on time, you do not only push out your CV but also call the advertising agencies to follow up on your application. More often than not, I got to secure interviews with recruiters I called up after applications.

Accomodation is story for another day, but in the end, God win and devil lost...lolzz. I'll advise those coming to start hunting as soon as they arrive so they don't fall under intense pressure like I did to get a place. It's not mere gainsaying that you must come with enough money so you can get what you want without sweat. Real estate agents give preference to people with:

1. Good rental history (sorry, your Akowonjo or Okokomaiko rent does not count)
2. Enough payslips to show you have a job (so for house rent sake, don't mind picking up any ok job as soon as u land as the payslip will work wonders for u)
3. Fat account balance (like one month of average wage sha)

House rent in Sydney is not cheap, but at the same time, it's all about location and individual preferences. So it's hard to a 1 bedder goes for this or a 2 bedder goes for that. But all I can say is that, Sydney hourly rates will definitely pay your bills if you are not lazy or unnecessarily choosy.

Agents usually organise general inspections for properties they are letting out. Na there you go see crowd wey come check house. There is a tendency for you to lose the house to some other people who have better credentials than you do (JJC). The secret here is to call the agents ahead of the inspection days and request for a private look and feel of the place not forgetting to mention how serious you are in getting the place. At least, that's how I eventually got my place after more than 3 weeks of fruitless house hunt.

It's good to get a car for job and domestic purposes. But I advise you get from a dealership where you can cause trouble if your car coughs.
The story about getting a car for job purposes is not one size fits all. Within 2 months I have worked in 3 places, 2 of which requires a car.

I failed my first driving license test (didn't have time to prepare for it well, was busy making money...lolzz and looking for house too sha). You must be more than prepared to leave behind you the insanity of Lagos driving and become a born again driver. Use a drivign instructor ahead of your test and pay attention to traffic signs and other details. Enjoy your 3 months of naija license while it lasts.

Happy to say I'm on my first professional job and I have every reason to be thankful to God and to friends that helped make my journey so far as smooth as possible: Bellong, Ibiyemiara, Iceberg54 and Bnimz.

Now that I'm settling down better than ever, I hope to be here on the forum make we dey gist like before.

Love you guys!!!!

Vinsmuft:
Updates:

The Journey
We came in with IOM arranged tickets. The discount they gave us really made sense. If I had gone directly, I would have paid N2.7m for myself and my family. But with IOM I ended up paying N1.3m. Although I had to send them plenty reminders after filling their form and the initial one week they gave me had elapsed.

The journey though long, was very pleasant on Emirates. IOM waited for us at Dubai and took us to an all expense paid lounge where we waited for the connecting flight to Melbourne. In that lounge was a small buffet where we ate and drank without paying a kobo. Summary: Please if you can, go ahead and book with IOM. I highly recommend them pls.

In Melbourne
I came into Melbourne and met some serious cold weather. Though I was warned, the height of the cold (permit the english) was beyond me. So please when coming here, make adequate preps for yourself and your little ones. Buy thick jacket, gloves and thick socks. No go do Ijebu like me and go buy some lame sweater from Naija. I spent one day in Melbourne and had to buy a serious and expensive jacket. I was told that winter is about coming and so things would get colder . No dull yourself.

The transport system in Victoria is very organized and similar to what is obtainable in UK. They have prams, trains and buses. All can be paid using a Myki card. If you would be coming into Melbourne, pls get more info here https://www.ptua.org.au/2009/11/18/myki-qa/. Children above 5 years and the elderly pay half the price. In order to move around town, you would need this card. Then download this app on your phone https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=au.gov.vic.ptv&hl=en. This app is a must as it gives you bus/train directions on how to get from your current location to anywhere within Melbourne (or Victoria as a whole). Earlier today I go enter wrong bus and don miss road already. But with this app, I found my way back. Using this app requires you to have a SIM with a data plan. I was told Optus is a great GSM line with good data plans. So ensure you have good data before stepping out of your house.
Finally please if you have many children you have to know that the law requires them to be in car seats from ages 16 and below. Get more info here https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/safety-and-road-rules/road-rules/a-to-z-of-road-rules/seat-belts-and-child-restraints. Omo if them catch you carrying a child without car seat, you go pay heavy fine (as much as $350). I plan to sort out this car seat wahala tomorrow so that we can all go for necessary registrations.

Cheers guys. Will update you as I go along.

Please for those who sent their transcript, has anyone used tranex how effective is it?
I also need help with payment for my assessment cc our Aussie elders
Thanks

MAY MOTIVATIONS

#BE inspired

leave the #GMPC Lane

#forward #spartans

mctowel01:
Grant Finally.
I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. (Ecclesiastes 9 : 11)

.
I m a living witness to this.
It was all a dream

.
Nov 2015, I didn't really know where I was thinking what next with life, and what it will present, in the hostels in UNI. A friend told me about studying in Australia and the fact that they didn't have so complex admission process, as far as one had the funds, there were always spaces. Plans were down. Time went, then I started service, and thats how exchange rate started dramatizing... Till it reached an unthinkable level. Australia in turn changed student visa policies, just a week to July, making it soo tough at that point. Then I felt really bad and knew studying wasn't possible again.

.
I started the PR processing, and thats how immigration started their wahala, almost two months to get a passport. Thanks to mamajaz at this point for her selfless service and support. She helped put.calls to lots of people in different states to help me process the passport. I will not forget it. Time went, I took ielts on the 5th of November, then prepared my CDR, which was submitted around that time. December 7th, I took PTE first time, scored all except speaking above 79. Speaking was 73. I booked again to take it on the 13th and scored all above 79, speaking 81.
Moreover, i got my assessment for professional electronics engineer on the 13th of December. Got the result on the 17th and lodged eoi immediately with 60 points. At that period, electronics went on pro rata, so I waited till April 12th round to get invited. I ll also add that the last invited 60points for electronics submitted on Dec 19, so it came down to the wire.
Lodged 13th April, submitted all relevant documents abd here I am, I ve gotten the Direct grant on the 31st May.
Sometimes, we think we are at the lowest point in life, not knowing we are being prepared for grace untold

.
Notable mentions to the veterans,...(some newbies might not know them) More like the forefathers in this thread... NNBB2012, scrollmeout, ericktack, bossylady Johnsontade, Malkinburg, and our ever, selfless, passionate and respected Bellong... God bless you sir. I owe you a complementary visit there.
My brothers from another mother Bnimz and big bro Jamson, catchdwindfrmkd... Thanks for being part of the journey.
Aussie, here I come

yinlak:
What a timeline!

IELTS GENERAL: 10/17/2014
IELTS GENERAL: 02/10/2014
IELTS GENERAL: 06/12/2014
IELTS ACADEMICS: 18/06/2015 (L8.5,W7,R7.5,S7)
EA ASSESSMENT SUBMISSION: 14/12/2015
EA POSITIVE OUTCOME: 04/04/2016
EOI SUBMISSION: 04/04/2016
ITA: 26/04/2016
VISA I89 APPLICATION: 23/06/2016
POSTLODGEMENT (SPOUSE & CHILD): 20/09/2016
POSTLODGEMENT (NEWBORN): 15/02/2017
GRANT: 11/05/2017
DATE OF FIRST ENTRY: 17/07/2017

Yeeshas:
Hello e-family, (haha...e-sibling i'm sure a lot of the veterans do not even know #thisismefamzing)

ITA received

Thank you guys @bellong and everyone

MAY MOTIVATIONS

#BE inspired

leave the #GMPC Lane

#forward #spartans

yoctek:
Dear e-family, I'm sorry I had to break the news on a sister thread- https://www.nairaland.com/215610/where-nigerians-australia/29

....Please rejoice with me!

Timeline:
Occupation: 263311 - Telecommunication Engineer
IELTS: 20/08/2016, L 8.5, R 8, W 7, S 7
Assessment lodged with EA (fast track) : 28/11/2016
Positive Assessment: 29/01/2017
EOI: 29/01/2017 65 points visa 189
ITA: 01/02/2017
Medicals & PCC: 07/02/2017
Visa lodged (189): 08/02/2017
All documents frontloaded ( including PCC, forms 80 and 1221): 08/02/2017
Visa Granted: 02/05/2017 (Direct Grant)
IED: 07/02/2018

To God be the glory!!!

chebyshev:
Hello friends,

Come and rejoice with me as my EA assessment outcome letter returned positive this morning.

Standard application submitted :09/02/2017

Occupation : Professional Chemical Engineer

Application fast tracked: 14/04/2017

Additional information requested by assessor :25/04/2017

Requested information submitted : 6/05/2017

Outcome letter received :08/05/2017

All thanks to catchwindfrmkd who helped me proof read my career episodes and professional summary statement. You are awesome bros. God bless you.

I also appreciate bellong and mactowel1 for providing solutions to the information requested by my assessor. Your suggestions worked like magic.

@majiouk2002, thanks for your suggestion.I went to unilag but the Hod refused to issue a letter to explain the content and length of my Msc programme. He said EA should contact them directly if they are interested in knowing about these. I took the bull by the horn by explaining everything myself and it worked perfectly for me as my Msc was also recognised by EA.

Adesolami36 thank you too

It's PTE turn now. May God help me and all of us in our quest to migrate to Australia.

Omooloriredade:


Na wa o. Effective? Tried searching on the web but couldn't find any links.

Anyway, got my invite today 14:18 hrs GMT. Got to beat that $70 increase o.
I doff my hat for those that have completed the 1221 and 80. Chai!!! See questions...

bellong:
I officially completed the final survey today which puts to an end, my two year moral obligation living in South Australia.

Now, I can move ahead to explore other states in the nearest future....

doyen06:
I got my NSW approval after 5 working days,all glory be to almighty God. Thanks to some old members who have helped from
Day 1-Bellong,ayaboyo, bossladymo,scrollmeout,nnbb1, fermandiko and kikiade to mention but a few. The journey has just started.

MAY MOTIVATIONS

#BE inspired

leave the #GMPC Lane

#forward #spartans

hordunayodt:
my people, it has happened oo, grant came in this morning, i am so happy.

All 2017.

Jan 13th------vetassess assessment lodge
march 3rd---- positive outcome
march 17th----PTE, 10 points
march 17th---EOI, NSW and VIC both 55 points
march 31st--- VIC nomination and ITA.
April 21st-----VISA LODGE, all docs front loaded
April 28th-----Immi assessment commence mail
May 16th-----Direct Grant.

Thanks to everybody that has contributed to the success via sharing knowledge here etc, many more grants to come in Jesus name.

Kempguy47:
Hello guys,

Finally landed in Melbourne with Wiffey. The journey was very very long but quite interesting . Used Emirates and had 2 stop overs. One in Dubai and another at Singapore. (Tho the stop over at Singapore was quite short. Just to drop off some passengers and pick up some others).

Just like vinsmoft said, we were received by some IOM staffs at Dubai who helped us to locate our boarding gate for the connecting flight to Melbourne ( not like we couldn't) and also ensured that we boarded the plane successfully. However unlike Vinsmoft case, we were not hosted in any all expense paid Lounge with buffet. The guy just showed us where to sit till our flight was ready and he disappeared. We were actually looking forward to the all expenses paid lounge but ...

The immigration checks was without hassles. Filled in the entry card and declared all the food stuff we were carrying. The immigration office just asked us some few questions about the food stuffs and just stamped our cards. Our bags were not even checked.

For accommodation, we are temporarily putting up with a family friend and looking to get our own soonest like ASAP. So please any one in Melbourne who can lease out a room to us while we share the bills, please hit me up. We are more than willing and able...

For job, I am currently looking to get a white card within this week so as to pick up some temporary job, while still hustling to get the professional ones. Will update you guys with the outcome..

We already registered for TFN. Will get it in 28 days time. We will open bank accounts within today and also register for Medicare and center link.

That's all for now, will update the house subsequently as things goes...

Alphadoor:
MAY MOTIVATIONS
#BE inspired
leave the #GMPC Lane
#forward #spartans

Beautiful

Alphadoor, you are blessed.