Posts Tagged ‘visa’

Posted on January 5, 2008 - by Brian

immigration: *sigh*

Well, this last week’s been really exciting…

Did you notice the sarcasm in that sentence? No? Oh… For someone who really likes sarcasm, I really have to work on conveying it through text.

Anyway, ignore what the first sentence said, this week was not exciting, just vomit inducing. I’ve just graduated from university and am a fully registered nurse now living in Australia on a student visa. I’m in the process of applying for an eighteen month visa and some of the requirements are ridiculous!

For example, before I can apply for my visa, I have to take the IELTS test, which is meant to prove to the government people that I can speak English. Why do I need to take this exam? I can understand that people who’ve just come from another country should take it so that the people hiring them know that they can communicate properly with people. Imagine telling the nurse that you have a heart attack, and five minutes later the nurse comes in with two panadol, because she/he didn’t understand what you said. Sure it is needed for some people, but there should be some sort of exemption for people who’ve studied here for more than five years!

Seriously, how could I not know how to speak, read and write English over the last six years? Surely my English teacher in high school and the various lecturers in uni would have said something if my work wasn’t good enough.

Another thing that bugs me is the fact that anyone who applies for a visa has to have a skills test, to prove that they can carry out anything that their profession requires. Again, this testing is important too, since you can’t have people working as nurses, and not know what they’re doing. The thing is, I’ve just graduated and registered with the nurses board, so really, I’ve proved that I know what I’m doing! Since the testing authority is the Australian Nurses and Midwives Council, and they’re the ones who’ve approved my uni curriculum, it should follow that I’m already qualified to practice according to their standards.

Oh well, at least the tests should be easy. And no, migration is not more trouble than its worth. I love living in Australia, and over the last six years it’s become the place that feels most like home to me.

You can probably expect a post further in the future commenting on the citizenship test, but that will come when it comes.