Hello Adelosreyes,
Intention ko talaga magpost about our 8 yr journey and tamang-tama ang inquiry mo.
Nagstart akong magapply nung dalaga pa ako back in 2006 with the intention of making it in Canada on my own. Pero as most of you know...after waiting for more than 5 yrs, I received an update in 2012 that all applications with no decision yet by the embassy will be returned. To say that my whole world crushed was an understatement. During that time, I also made an effort to update my application as I got married back in 2010. When we got married, I moved to SG and from there lahat ng decisions namen were loosely based on the fact that one day we will be migrating to Canada. We postponed having kids & we didn't move house in SG so imagine my disappointment na wala palang sense ang lahat ng sacrifices namen.
In 2010, while waiting for Canada, we thought it would be good to manage our risk and apply for Permanent Residency in Singapore. Unfortunately, we got rejected.
After learning about our returned application in Canada by 2012, I got really apprehensive knowing that our status in SG was not really stable. I immediately checked other countries after finding out that our jobs were not in Canada's Demand List. I saw that Australia was the next viable option considering that I also have my relatives there. Nagpa-assess kame sa isang Immigration Agent na recommended ng friend namen who recently got approved. We sent our profiles and received their advise that we were qualified for a provincial nominee. We immediately set-up a meeting with the agency to discuss further our application and went ahead to proceed with the contract signing.
In 2012, Australia will be introducing the new EOI Expression of Interest which is very similar to Canada's new Express Entry. There were two major things that are important before we can submit the application: 1) Get your skills certified by a third Party Assessing Body of Australia and 2) Pass IELTS with a score of at least 7.0 in all bands: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking.
For the first item, getting the skill certification was smooth sailing for my husband. Whatever work credentials he has submitted, na-credit at in acknowledge ito ng assessor. However, for IELTS, hindi sya pinalad. On his first try, he was short by 1.0 in writing. I immediately scheduled him to another one and every weekend leading up to the exam date, nagpapractice sya with his essays with me checking on his work right after. On his 2nd attempt, ganun ulet pero this time kinulang sya ng 0.5 sa writing at speaking. We decided it maybe worthwhile to attend a formal class. On his 3rd attempt, his score improved but this time kulang sya ng 0.5 na lang sa writing. We thought since kulang na lang ng 0.5 baka pwede reng ipa-recheck as we know a friend na ganun ang ginawa. When results came back - score in writing remained as 6.5.
Time is clicking and nasa 2013 na during that time pero wala pa ren kameng nasasubmitan na application. Add to that si hubby will be turning 40 yrs old and if di umabot ang IELTS nya before his birthday di na kame aabot sa minimum score ng AU. I was getting depressed and frustrated about the entire situation, meanwhile, kabi-kabila kameng nakakarinig ng balita from friends or friend of a friend na paalis na papuntang Australia.
We checked again with our agent and we asked what if magswitch kame ni hubby...ako ang maging principal applicant. Based on the scores, pasok pa ren although mas madugo kasi iba-iba ang naging companies ko. Immediately, we went ahead and enlisted for IELTS. We both went for IELTs kc iniisip namen baka umabot na sya sa 4th time so win-win situation. Thank God pasawang awa ako...halos 7.0 lang ako sa lahat ng modules. Si hubby short again by 0.5. Given this good news on my side, I immediately completed my job description from various companies and the agent sent it to the assessing body. We were both hopeful, thinking na this would be OK already at nagbibilang na kame ng ilang months bago matanggap ang visa. We know for a fact na sa AU, mabilis ang processing na basta makalodge ka lang. Imagine our surprise when we found out the assessor rejected my nominated work naman! Parang gumuho na ang mundo ko nun...and I remember calling my sister overseas about this...and I vividly recall her saying..."hindi ka naman pwedeng tumigil sa kakatry otherwise ganyan pa ren ang state nyo" Tama sya - if we don't do anything about it now...it will all be same tomorrow. So I started picking up the pieces and even with a broken heart...i started reading on New Zealand's requirements.
For New Zealand, I remember spending one Sunday afternoon reading yung very confusing nilang questionnaire. Based on my assessment, si hubby lang ang qualified if yung college nya is worth a certain Level. They have something similar to WES (sorry i forgot the name) so we submitted the requirements and paid a certain amount for the assessment. Again, when results came, we were disheartened to know na hindi abot yung score - he was only given a score of 6 when ang kelangan namen is 7. We didn't proceed with New Zealand.
Binalikan kame ng agent sa Australia and they said, they will nominate me to the more appropriate skill. However, since hindi yung course ko directly related to my work, I needed to produce another document ...like a business case/thesis to show that I have been very well trained and knowledgeable for my job. Likewise, they said short pa ako ng about 3 months of work experience so they cannot immediately apply for the assessment right away. When I opened the document, nalungkot ako sa dame ng inputs na kailangan ko gawen. I decided to do it on my 3rd month na lang kasi parang napapagod na ako. Umabot na ang Australia saga till 2014....
By April 2014, we came to know that mag-oopen ang FSW 2014 from my sister's canadian agent. We got hopeful again, and utilised the free assessment they have onsite. Pasok si Hubby! By May 1, 2014 we signed up with the agency and started preparing the documents. the good news is yung mga documents that we have been preparing for Australia, na-utilize namin! and more good news, yung IELTS scores ni hubby ay pasok na pasok! Plus, yung IELTS ko ay nagbigay pa sa amen ng additional 5 points. By mid-June, we were complete with all the documents and documents were received by the embassy by June 24. The rest is history...
Our journey is a very long one...filled with frustration and disappointment but after seeing our Canadian Visa Stamps last friday it was all worth it. Sabe nga ni Steve Jobs as commencement speech nya sa isang university..."you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect the dots looking backwards." Had we not prepared these documents beforehand for Australia, hindi kame aabot sa 1000 quota kasi ang NOC ni hubby ay isa sa fast moving NOCs. Who would have thought na sa Canada pa ren pala ang bagsak namen. Also, if hindi came nareject ng reject probably nasa Australia na kame ngayon which is not at all a bad thing, however, both of our sisters are waiting for us in Canada!
Sorry at super haba na nito...I hope nakatulong man lang tong story namen sa inyo for those who are patiently waiting...trust in the Lord that you are where you are meant to be...in His Perfect Time He will give it to you. Good night and God Bless.
