Australian Migration As A Nurse

I'm an introvert & quite possibly a social misfit. No doubt about it. Social interactions drain me. Solitary times recharges me. I read this book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts by Susan Cain. Never has a book speak so loudly to me before. In it, she stated that the percentage of introverts in the US is... a whooping 51-52% which means, extroverts are a minority! Oh well, hardly. But you get what I mean. She suspects that the statistics are similar all over the world. Ok, so why did I bring up the topic of introversion? I wanted to quote a chinese phrase but my chinese is so bad I can only remember the latter half which goes, 出外靠朋友. I've never felt this more acutely than I do now. Having attained our Australian PR, the next step is of course making the actual move. In a foreign land, you need friends to help you along. So I hope just like some people have been a great help to me, I hope I can be of great help to you too. I'll touch on how to get Australian PR if you're a nurse. This is under Skilled Independent Visa (subclass 189).

I lodged my APHRA (which is the equivalent of registering for your SNB licence) in Sept 2011. At that time, IELTS was not required. I'm not too sure if the regulations have changed since then. This is by far the most complicated part of your PR application. It requires you to produce documents which are hard to get coz it'll mean alerting your company that you have intentions to leave. You need a proof of employment which I got from HR (by lying to them that I need it for bank loan). You need 2 professional testimonies from your supervisors (managers, clinician, educator or if you're gungho enough, your assistant director of nursing) by going to 2 nurse clinicians whom I trust & know will keep a secret for me. You'll need certified true copies of your SNB Certificate of Registration (the brown copy with a red seal), your practising cert for the year (the small blue card), qualification certs and transcripts ('O' levels, diploma, degree) & for diploma, you'll need clinical transcripts as well which you have to get from the polytechnic. While you're at it, get a copy of course content (diploma & degree) coz you'll need it for Skills Assessment at a later stage. You need a trip to SNB & get them to send a certificate of good standing. There're a multitude of other documents you will need to send, but these are the hardest to get. Once you get your in principle approval, you'll need to show evidence of the right to enter Australia & for this step, a tourist visa will do.

At this stage, I engaged AIMS Immigration agency to process my PR for me. If you wanna go at it on your own, it's not impossible, just a lot of work & it can be very confusing. Otherwise, you'll need to part with SGD$6300 as agency fees & the price increases every year. I know coz my friend who signed up with them a year before me paid SGD5k++.

Next, I did my IELTS (academic). You need a band 7 in all 4 categories (max band 9) so you need a pretty good command of English. After a certain age (I think it's after 35 or 38, I'm not too sure.) the requirements go up to band 8. Each attempt is SGD$320 & you have to wait 3 months for a retest if you need it. I managed to "pass" on my 1st attempt though I've heard of people taking as many as 6 times yet still "fail". I got a 8.5 for Listening, 9 for Reading, 7 for Writing & 7.5 for Speaking. I felt it was pretty easy though it might have been pure good fortune. Speaking takes place about a week later, depending how how you book your test dates. Trick is to practise, practise, practise. Download free online IELTS mock tests. AIMS gave me a booklet with test practise as well which I went over twice, including the online ones. Oh yeah, don't forget to pray. I chanted (I practise Nichiren Buddhism) for success way before I even signed up for IETLS.

Next up, Skills Assessment with ANMAC. If you've got your APHRA licence, you can do the modified assessment which will cost AUD$320. You'll need similar documents as per APHRA, but this time you need a Statement of Service. This is a letter from your Nurse Manager only (ADON or DON will do as well) stating your position, duration with the hospital, your roles & responsibilities & confirmation of your competency as a registered nurse by your Manager. Waiting time is 4 months. 

When your skills have been assessed as suitable for migration, you can submit an Expression of Interest (EOI). It runs on a points system & you need to hit a minimum of 60 points. Waited about 2 week. You'll get an invitation to apply for PR which of course, you do & part with AUD$3060 as visa application fee (spouse & kids at half the price each). Mine was lodged on 15th Nov 2013. Another month of waiting & you'll be assigned an officer who will be in charge of your case. You & your spouse will be required to undergo a medical checkup choosing from a panel of doctors & radiology centers at own cost within a month of notice. This consists of a CXR, HIV test, weight/height measurement, BP taking & physical assessment by the doctor. I don't think they take weight/BMI into consideration coz based on my BMI, I'm definitely overweight & my husband belongs to the obese category. Lastly, you need a Certificate of Clearance (COC) from Police Cantonment Complex at SGD$45 per pax from 8.30 am to 12 noon, Mon to Fri, excluding PH. You'll be given a date to collect the COC which is about 10 days from application. I collected my COC on 30th Dec 2013, submitted it to AIMS who submitted it to Australia Immigration on the same day. I was granted my PR on the very next day, 31st Dec 2013.

All in all, I estimate I spent about SGD$14k though I really should have keep track. It's a lot of work & money just to get the PR (even if you minus the 6k for agency fee). So you need to be very sure about your decision. You'll need to make the 1st entry into Australia within a year & to be eligible for renewal of your PR after 5 years, you need to stay a cumulative of 2 years out of the 5 years. A tip AIMS gave me was if you don't have that many years left on your passport, renew it. Depending on where you decided to settle down, it can be very far to travel should you need to renew your passport in Australia as you can only do it in Canberra. 

Diary Entry From 10 years ago (Now 11 years ago)

Extracted from my FB note, written on 25th July 2012.

I'm still in the process of throwing out junks & tidying up my house. I just dug out my diary from my teenage years. It was written on my birthday 10 years ago when I was just 19. As I read it, I'm swept away. I think I wrote better in my younger days. LOL.

1.59 am, 28th Dec 2002. Friday. Officially my birthday.

Here are the thoughts that pass through my mind on this very night, at this hour.

Sometimes, we fail to realise that they (artists) are humans too. We place them on a pedestal, treat them like a deity when in fact, they are just like us. The only thing that they have & we don't is fame.

I am a solitary person. I need more solitary time than most of my friends. I'm not that much of a thinker. But sometimes, you just need to stop & admire all that is around you. The beauty that you failed to appreciate. It opens me up to all sorts of possibilities. Most of the time, we're swept away by this fast paced world. I am guilty of it many a times. To be able to pen these down is easy. But to be fully aware of it is another thing.

I love to read. To possess those beautiful books. They are but sentences formed by words. But together, they weave beautiful tales. I am 19. The world doesn't feel any different. I don't feel any different from what I used to be. Another year is almost upon me, upon all of us. I can't continue to live in vain. So from the coming year on, I will draw up a list of things, goals to accomplish before the year is up. Things that are worth doing. But I guess on second thoughts, everything and everybody has its worth. I have to find mine before I can proceed. To find who I am. Do you know why I like to write? What I am not, I am in the tales I spin.

A striking contrast in entries for I have not been faithful in writing. Perhaps one day, I can read and experience once again the passages that I have passed, the growth that I have made.

I know, I'm a feeler. I often stop to feel the vast emotions coursing through my veins. It may be some scene that I saw or perhaps it's some lines I read from a certain book, or it may even be songs that I've heard a hundred times. At different junctions in my life, the same elements or the cocktails of these elements will strike a different cord in me.

The Ugly Duckling Who Couldn't Fit In

Extracted from my FB note, written on 9th July 2012.

Not many people know my story. It's not that I'm hiding it on purpose but you don't really talk about such things as an adult. For a long time, I was ashamed. To be me. It wasn't until recently that I came to appreciate myself for who I am. It took me 29 years. But better late than never right?

I spent practically the entire 6 years in primary school alone. I had no friends. Nobody to talk to except a girl who lived just 3 floors below me. I can still remember her name. Sheena Fong. She's a year younger, hence, the only chance we get to meet or talk was during recess or on the school bus. Any attempts to play with her at her house after school resulted in caning from my father. It wasn't that I had homework to do. I just wasn't allowed anywhere without my parents. Asking for permission always ended up in a 'no'. Still, I tried my luck time & again without their consent. My mom was more lax. If I wasn't home after school, she knew exactly where I was & would get me before my father got home. I mean, what do you want me to do? I was young, no form of entertainment at home, no siblings to play or fight with.

Sheena ran with a different crowd as we entered (different) secondary school. She's the pretty, slim & popular girl. There I was, the fat, ugly duckling who endured teasing, tauntings & bullying throughout that 4 years. I had close friends. 2 girls & 2 guys to be exact. Of whom, I'm still in contact with the 2 guys. But we were in different classes. Nobody could save me from the worst sort of words they bestowed on me.

Things got better in polytechnic. Everybody's older & girls were generally not as cruel. (I used were because I think the girls in this current time are just as bad.) My 10 year ordeal was finally over. I enjoyed my 3 years in NYP. I was just an above average student. I guess if I wanted to, I could have scored better. But at that time, I wasn't too bothered as long as I passed.

I wonder if my awkwardness when I'm among people can be attributed to my up bringing & experiences in my younger days. There was definitely improvement over the years. I was absolutely silent unless spoke to in primary school. I had friends in secondary school. For once, I fitted in with my NYP friends. Till the me today, who talked way too much at times. But compare me with anybody else, you'll notice the difference.

My 1st sense of achievement ever in my life is my good grades in my Bachelor's degree. If you think I'm competitive, it's only with myself. Even till now, I still think that my good grades were due to pure luck. That somehow, I made the right guesses, wrote the right words etc.

I've always wanted to blend into the crowd, not wanting to draw attention to myself. Then someone came along & told me that I have what it takes to be different, to excel. Dream big & start small, she told me. Coincidentally, Jon, Sam & I were watching this Bollywood movie titled 3 Idiots on Saturday. Something to this effect was repeated in the movie several times: "The car is at the gate. Only you can choose whether to board." I guess it's time to let go of all the insecurities, all the fears & give myself a chance. To identify one's weaknesses & seek to overcome them. That's human revolution - the one thing I must seek to achieve in this life time for it will never come again.

Lost In Transition

I noted with horror that I've not written since July 2012. Where have I been? Nowhere in particular. That's the problem isn't it? Let's bring this blog up to date.

Sept 2011:
Submitted APHRA application online. I left out documents on purpose, dragging it out by sending 1 at a time. Finally got my APHRA registration in March 2013.

Dec 2012:
Successfully completed my Bachelor Degree in Nursing from Griffith University. I've never been a good student, always waiting till the very last minute to "hug the Buddha's leg" & naturally it shows in my results. I put this off for a very long time, undertaking my degree 7 years after I graduated from NYP. I felt I just wasn't ready. Then, the divorced happened & suddenly I'm on my own, supporting my family. In truth, I took up the degree so I can be paid $250 more per month. I jumped into it with apprehension aplenty.

No exams for the 2 modules in my 1st semester. However, I had to submit 2 written assignments & do a group presentation. The words came easily enough, probably due to my prior experiences with writing, albeit casually. The grades came back distinction. Then came the nightmare. To do this well in my 1st semester, I felt I had to maintain, if not upped the standards in future semesters. I ensured I revised the handouts at the end of each week & studied at least a month before the exams. I maintained my distinctions in all modules except Research where I missed the distinction by 2 marks as my group failed the presentation. In my last semester, I had to undertake the toughest 2 modules in the entire course: Health Assessment & Pathophysiology. I was so stressed all the time my eyelids started twitching just 2 weeks into the semester & didn't stop till a month after I completed it. The hard work paid off. I received 2 high distinctions for it.

This is my best academic achievement thus far. The euphoria from doing well didn't last unfortunately. I was ready to give up on migrating to Australia as I was offered a chance to be the 1st ophthalmic APN. Issues at work made me want to resign on the spot if not for the 1 year bond I was supposed to fulfil upon completion of my studies (I was sponsored by my company you see). I decided to stick it out till June & pay the liquidated damages for the remaining 6 months.

March 2013:
Upon successful APHRA, I went through the steps for Australian PR application. Since staying at my job was out of the question, I might as well bank in on the other option. Besides, I've already spent almost 1k on the APHRA registration. I wished I could say I got it sorted out by myself. But alas, it was all too confusing. Yup, I forked out over 6k for an agency to do the job for me.

Dec 2013:
On the last day of 2013, I finally received my Australian PR. By the way, I didn't resign from my job which I will do tomorrow. I'm actively looking into the state we're to relocate to. Adelaide offers the quiet I want & properties are cheap. But I've heard how hard it is to find a job there. I've been tracking job search websites for months & true enough, the listings are for casual work arrangements. Don't know anybody there except 2 online friends I've never met in person. Perth, nearest to Singapore but has higher temperature compared to the other states. I read the most about Perth from a blogger asingaporeanson. Hubby has a friend in Perth who upon hearing our successful PR application, has offered a place for us to stay till we can get housing sorted out. She told us that nurses are in demand there. I've a friend in Sydney but high property prices & higher cost of living puts me off. It doesn't help that she had suffered racist attacks (both verbally & physically) from the locals. Oh well, shall see where my "research" leads me.

To Be Or Not To Be

I posted this on my FB on the 29th June. When you get an opportunity, you either grab it or leave it. If you leave it, 1 day you may realise how much you need it. If you grab it & sit on it, you'll never reap the rewards. Humans very complicated hor?

Expending on my FB status this morning, the original thought came to me with regards to my purchase of the Shake Weight. Mister & I chanced upon it at the Aibi store in PS. We were idling away, window shopping while waiting for our movie screening time to arrive. They were having a promotion on the Shake Weights. It wasn't exactly cheap but still affordable. As it was approaching screening time, we left, but not before asking for the closing time (9.30 pm), telling ourselves that if the shop was still open after our movie, we would buy it.

We walked out of the cinema at 9.35 pm, thinking out loud that the shop should be closed for the day. But as we were heading down the escalator, we noticed that their shutters were still up. We ended up paying slightly over $100 for the Shake Weights. We've been using it diligently everyday since, save for the 3 weeks that I was cramming for exams.

If we didn't buy the Shake Weights (forgoing the opportunity), I would have regretted by now since I would have found out at a later date that I was to wear a wedding gown (with extremely flabby upper arms). If we bought it & left it lying around somewhere in the house without utilizing it, we won't reap any rewards (toned upper arms). Of course, to achieve the desired results, we have to perservere no matter how tough the going gets. Trust me, while it takes only 6 mins, I can't tell you how painful it is to sustain this duration.

There's only 1 difference between Shake Weight & a major life decision: the magnitude of it all. I would have blown a mere $100+ if I didn't put the Shake Weight to good use or having to endure the pain with usage. But I will either live with irrevocable regrets or irrevocable stress trying to achieve my goals. Of course, with all things in life, if you perservere enough, something has to give. You just have to make sure you're not the 1 giving up. That's why they say, no pain, no gain. There're sacrifices no matter what your decision is. Only you can decide if you're willing to see it through to the end & whether at the end of it all, is all your hardwork worth the while.

Scallion Pancakes (葱油饼)

Got this recipe off my copy of Bread Making by Lauren Chattman. I decided to use chives instead of the traditional spring onion. They turned out pretty good. The recipe yielded 8 pancakes and they vanished within minutes.

The Dogs In My Life

 Puggy (Pug)

Ton Ton (Miniature Schnauzer)