₦airaland Forum

Hi. My eye caught your brother's job and I have a question. I am currently applying for medical officer roles as I have written my AMC 1 exam. I am trying to build professional friendships with Nigerians in the medical sector in Australia especially for the sake of referral. Would it be possible for us to connect? Thank you.

duscollins:
[color=#006600][/color]


Please permit me to address you on this. This could be a valid visa. The real issue here is not about validity of the visa but rather the robustness of your plan to travel through any route to your destination.
In aviation, travel routes have different requirements. I witnessed this in May, 2019 when my elder brother was stopped from boarding Air France because of transit visa. That is theirs policy.
We eventually booked Emirates that didn't require transit visa through Abu Dhabi and Singapore to Melbourne.
I noticed two things from that trip. Don't leave all the travel issues in the hands of agent. Not all of them stay up to date. I had to read and research thoroughly to come up with Emirates as a suggestion for the agent as my elder brother knew little about aviation policy.
Secondly, start your preparation in good time and ensure you have a good reaction time if you notice any error, that will allow you to control and correct it at a lesser fee. Consequently, for Airfrance we paid 800k but a paltry sum was refunded. Because he needed to be in Melbourne before 5th may, 2019, the Emirates tickets became expensive.
I will never forget this experience in a hurry, I cried for him but he is relishing it now as a senior medical officer.
I hope I have answered you. Sir.

I really can’t blame those doctors. Getting Australian license to practice for doctors trained in Nigeria isn’t a walk in the park and sometimes, you’ll look at the quality of life (and family time) you have with your present job and just decide you are content. Some of them will later pursue the license when they have settled other pending aspects of their life and settled most of their urgent black tax.

AussieJoan:
WORK! WORK! WORK!

It's only befitting that I start with this as it is usually the first thing that may cross your mind when the honeymoon phase elapses or in my case, the only thing on my mind 95% of the time. It's a well known fact that you need money to survive here and in order to do that, you need to work. Here's my take on this (please note, this has been my experience so far and you shouldn't take it as gospel).

If you're a student without scholoarship, sponsorship or you're not the child of dangote . You know you'll need money to survive.

i) How much are you willing to sacrifice to get that $$. (I like saying except you get a job that pays you $100/hr. It's hard to combine working more than 40 hrs a week and studies- I used to work between 80 to 85hrs per week and it was horrible). There are 3 choices
a) Sacrifice your studies for that cash ( you won't fail but you might not graduate with a distinction of first class.....you might fall in the category of people wey dey shout even P's get degrees). However before going down this route, think about what happens when you finish studying, will your grades affect your future career progression or not?
b) You give equal time to both studies and work: This is self explanatory.
c) You dedicate more time to your studies than working: Like I said earlier if you don't have a fat pocket coming into the country, OYO is your name and this might not work well for you.

ii) After deciding the above, think about what budget will be suitable for your needs. Please, don't make a mistake here, it's better you overestimate your needs than the opposite. Our gist for here na stories that touch the heart.

iii) Connect with people that have the right information you need. Please don't limit yourself to only Nigerians or Africans as you can miss out on a lot of opportunites by doing so.

iv)Research the sector you want to work in and find a job that you either like or can tolerate for a long time. If you get a job that you hate, after 3 months ( you go become regular visitor to HR because you lack motivation to do that job and will do things you aren't supposed to do).

v) After you have gotten the job there are some things you should consider:
a) Does the job closely aligns with what you're studying? (e.g if you're working in aged care and you're a nursing student). If the jobs does, that's good but don't sit down with a company for too long, explore and get other similar jobs. What you should be aiming for is a higher job position and pay so that by the time you are done with your studies.... Your resume would be looking soo juicy that the job you really want won't be out of reach.
b) if the job doesn't align with your future career and the reason that you are working there is because of $$, make sure you shop around and find a job for the highest amount of $$ you can find.

I must mention this. I have heard about some people (Nigerians) who studied medicine in Nigeria and are medical doctors but when they came to Australia they went and sat down in the disability sector. That calabash dem dey shake untop your head for village strong wella, make una continue.

TO BE CONTINUED!

Hello chief, congratulations on your PR. Pls, do you mind sharing how you finally did it so that other doctors like me can learn. Was it via the masters in nursing you talked about? My MD is from Ukraine, HJ and NYSC done in Nigeria. I also have a masters in Radiography from Estonia (E.U). My husband can’t apply for PR as his occupation (accountant) has severe backlog. Thank you

DrCollins218:
I arrived Australia yesterday safely on a PR visa. It was a smooth scale at the border control. If you have any questions you can ask me here and I will be happy to provide answers.
Thank you

I had about 1.3M balance when I applied. It was 2019 and euro was about 395 then.

tripoli007:
Hi ,how much did you have on your bank statement before applying for the tourist visa

Yes a friend got her visa from UK but her passport wasn’t a virgin passport and she had had several Uk visas in the past. I don’t think it’s a wise decision going through Uk cos it’s your first time leaving naija. I think the visa might be hard to get but if you feel you can easily get it, by all means, go for it.
For cost going through turkey, check some pages behind. I have written what my cost was but please bear in mind that my cost was for 2 people. So visa fees were times 2, flight was the expensive choice, etc.

jessetom:
Good day everyone.

I got admitted to study at TalTech.
Now I'm trying to struggle with the matter of Visa.
I learnt that they have an Estonian embassy in London. I was wondering if I can get my Visa there. I have lots of family with strong ties in the UK and I was thinking I can have them invite me so I'd stay with them for the while that I plan to obtain the Visa to save cost.
I will love to know I it's possible to obtain this visa from the UK and if anyone have done it before.

Also, I will love to consider other path to obtain the Visa and TRP such as Egypt, Turkey, Israel. At this time, which one would you recommend with regards to optimization of cost and reliability?
This will be my first time to leave Nigeria.

Thank you so very kindly in anticipation for your reply guys.

PS; I will be glad to know how much for the travel and all that to obtain the Visa and get to Estonia (Excluding Tuition fees).

- Mudi

First, you have to reserve a flight ticket and hotel reservation. You can get the reserved flight ticket from www.turkishairline.com and the hotel from booking.com. Make sure you select hotel without reservation fee and free cancellation. On the flight ticket, select the option of pay later. Also get your bank statement ready. Scan the 3 documents mentioned above and have them on your phone or laptop depending on which device you want to use to apply online.

Now go to their website and start your online pre-application for visa. Fill in all the details and when they ask you if you have insurance, say yes. For the validity of the insurance, calculate 2 weeks from your visit date and write it there(this is because the visa application center will sell a 2 week compulsory insurance to you). Upload all the scanned documents there including your scanned passport photograph. After you submit your pre application, select an appointment date. When the day comes, go with all the documents I earlier listed and make sure you have enough photocopies. Go with exact amount of dollar and make sure the dollar has no tear or stamp and is not older than 10 years. If you will request for courier to return your passport, also go with naira. They don’t do POS transactions and they don’t give change (weird, I know. All na thief).

If you will be granted the visa, the embassy will send a mail after 2 business days to tell you to pay for your ticket. Once you pay, you will get your visa. Note that the visa submission center is called mzvisa and it’s not in the embassy itself so google the address(I have forgotten it). Goodluck

hakeembee:
Been a while in here�. @skimpy can you analyze stage by stage how you processed and obtained your Turkish visa for us? Asking for a friend.

No I didn’t mention my visit to Estonian embassy. I simply said I was going for tourism and I checked google for places to visit in Ankara then added it to my itinerary

Sam8850:
Hello, congratulations on completing this challenging journey. I would like to follow the Turkey route as well, I just have a question that I feel I need to clarify so as not to spoil my chances of securing a visa.

When you applied for Turkey visa and attended the interview in Abuja, did you mention to Turkey's embassy that you were only going to Turkey for Estonia Embassy appointment or you categorically only stated Tourism as main reason for travelling?

Anyone else who had also gone via Egypt, did you mention that you were only going to Egypt to be able to apply for RP at Estonia Embassy?

Thanks.

Like I said before, it was for 2 people, myself and a baby! I also said it will be way cheaper for other people especially because the flight I booked was business class. If you are flying economy, it can’t be as expensive as what I spent.

Most schools allow installments. Simply mail them and tell them how you will like to pay or better still, pay the first semester and after arriving, sort out your payment plan with them

RealFirstLady:
The amount you spent, was it for two people? Is much ooo! Tuition fee and accommodation is not here.

Do they allow tuition fee installment payment?

There’s usually a validity period for all visas. You can be given a 2 weeks visa and the validity is for 3months. In such case, you don’t need to travel on the start date. You can travel anytime within the validity period but at the point of entry, you will only be allowed in for the 2 weeks.

For example: visa start date is 10/05/20
Visa end date: 10/07/20
Duration of stay: 15days

This means you can travel anytime between 10 May and 10 July and spend 15 days but you must leave the country on or before 10/07/20 regardless of whether you have spent the 15days or not. Do you get it?

OlakunmiSMELTD:
Please house, if I get like 2weeks tourist visa, on 10th Feb 2020. When is the maximum date it will expire?
Can I use it like 2weeks after?

Yes I am

omitobi:
Are you in Tartu? Possibly I can get direct information from you. I am also in Tartu right now.

When booking your appointment, the list of documents will be written there. Do all your photocopying and printing from home cos it’s freaking expensive at the visa center. The documents I used are hotel reservation, flight reservation, letter from my work place showing I will be on leave during the period I requested for, marriage cert and my son’s birth cert to prove that I have social ties to Nigeria, statement of account, itinerary(list of tourist places i intend visiting and on which days), work I.D card and it’s photocopy, consent letter for my son to travel with me from the dad. Don’t bother about insurance, it’s included in the visa fee. They only take cash at the visa center and your dollars must not have any stain, stamp or tear. They also don’t give change so go with your exact $125. You can request for dhl to bring your passport back to you

omitobi:
Thank you for submitting this report here. I want to ask, what are the required documents that was needed to get Turkish visa? Do you have to get a letter from work or from school or the likes before you got their tourist visa? Thank you.

Tartu healthcare college

eddyme:
What school did you apply to that waive IELTS Score for you madam.

I think you have to take it to ministry of foreign affairs in Abuja for it to be authenticated and legalized. When you get to estonia, you will then take it to their own ministry of foreign affairs here for an extra stamp. This was my mistake. I didn’t do the one in abuja and now I have to send it to the nearest Nigerian embassy to legalize it

outi:
How can I get my marriage certificate notarized for use in Estonia?

I sent an email to the school quoting why I felt I shouldn’t be made to write an English proficiency test. I also attached the front page of my transcript from my last school that stated the language of study was English. It might not work for all school tho. Someone tried this recently with a school in Tallinn and they told her it was the end of her application or she could still get back to them with her English test and continue the application.

McDonald4u:
how did you apply for IELTS waiver and was the IELTS waiver granted

No

Isaacpyo04:
So you cant get Estonia visa in Nigeria?

I got so many mails and I will certainly reply all. Bear with me please.

fecosequence:
please I sent you a message. I'm interested in the Estonian study visa and I would like as you some few questions.. Thanks

I applied for tourist visa. You don’t need invitation letter. All you need is hotel reservation and your itinerary where you will list the tourist attraction you intend visiting

Larrygabby:
my question is this do you apply for turkey tourist visa without invitation,because I tink for someone to go through turkey link someone need invitation inother to apply turkey visa

I applied for masters. It wasn’t tuition free

useed:
Congratulations ma, did you apply for a master's program or a PhD program ? If master's, was your MSc tuition free ?

The only special requirement is birth certificate and the consent letter from your spouse allowing you to travel with the child

iListen:
Congratulations...I've been particularly concerned about the ease and convenience of going and settling with a child.

Are there any special requirements?

So I have finally landed in Estonia. Actually landed a week ago but couldn’t gather myself to write this message. I went through Turkey and it was quite smooth. Traveled with a child and we spent approx 1.2M for the entire process including flights and visa fees. I am certain it will be cheaper for most people because your flights can be cheaper. Our flight fees were most expensive cos I had to fly business class because of the comfort for the child. I’d itemize most of the fees I can remember.

Flight to Abuja, Uber to the visa center, $250 visa fees for 2 people and miscellaneous= 200k
Return Flight to turkey: 700k
9 nights at Hotel: 52k
Food and transport: 51k
Estonian Visa: 40k
Flight to Estonia: 212k
Total: 1,255,000

My Estonian visa was approved within 5 days. Submitted on a Monday and collected the passports on a Friday. No serious questions were asked. If you are interested in applying for turkey visa, you can reply my comment. I will write all what I went through there so that you don’t have to waste money like I did. Photocopying 1 page is 100naira there. Printing of 1 page is 1k. They just extort people a lot there.

Also, I got insurance for myself and child for 39k valid for a year.

I had my transcript in hand. My first degree wasn’t from Nigeria so when I relocated to Nigeria some years back, I came with a copy. I only sent the scanned copy to the school I applied to through dreamapply. They printed it and did the ENIC/NARIC verification before my Skype interview.

pickatyou:
Did you get transcript in hand or it was sent to the school you applied directly. Because that's where I am having a little issue because I want to recieve a copy of my transcript

Like you rightly said, MOST not ALL. I applied to one of the few that has an August- November application period.

Micho007:
Alright..... I thought most of the schools start admission process around Dec/January

Not really. It took about 2 and half months. Submitted my application last week in September, application deadline was November 15(they kept mailing me till the deadline to clarify things with me especially because I told them to give me an ielts waiver) and my interview date was dec 4

Micho007:
That was fast

End of September

ChidimmaP:
Nice. When did you apply?

I have done my Skype interview o. It wasn’t much of a big deal jare. It was interactive. I feel like they were judging my English and motivation to study the course I chose and why I chose their country. I was interviewed by a panel of 4 women.

I’d keep dropping updates here. Who knows? It might help someone tomorrow.

ChidimmaP:
Greetings everyone.

I've seen many complaints about how hard it is to get Egyptian visa to apply for Estonian student Visa. I have two questions that could actually help if I get positive response on them

1. China is easier to get visa to. Is there any restriction limiting us from trying to apply through China?

[/color] The only restriction is the cost. Yes, they have an embassy that can issue long term visa but one way ticket to China is about $900 so that makes it an expensive route.

2. There's Estonian consulate office in Accra, Ghana. Don't they process student visa?

[color=#990000] they don’t.

3. When admission is gotten, when is one required to pay tuition fee? Before visa application or after arriving in Estonia?

[color=#990000][/color] it depends on your school. Information about it will be in clear terms when you are given the admission letter

Is there anyone currently processing an admission? I applied to Tartu health care college for masters and I have been told to expect Skype interview. Want to find out if any other person is currently processing admission in any school so that we can keep the thread alive. Remember, it will soon be time to apply for the almighty visa �

Larrygabby:
After getting to Estonia is it possible to do resident permit for my family to stay with me has a student because already married

For masters and PhD, I know it is possible. Not sure about Bsc programs