Road to Australia as a Medical Laboratory Scientist from Overseas

Over the years, my fellow medical laboratory scientists have inquired about helping them with links and processes in relocating to Australia. After sending the process to a fellow last night, I felt compelled to write something and post it online so that fellow medical laboratory scientists willing to relocate to Australia may find some guidance.

Disclaimer: The following procedure is written in my capacity and does not reflect the ideas and dictates of the mentioned organizations. This process may be used as a guide and is not exhaustive in terms of all requirements. You will need to check the relevant official documents of the respective organizations. I have included websites and links that you may refer to for current and updated information on the processes and an enhanced understanding of the whole process.

When I decided to relocate from Africa to a country outside, I spent some months researching which nation to focus on. I even considered the United States of America, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and Ireland until a friend in the United Kingdom pointed out to me that I might need to check out Australia. When I researched Australia, I found it very interesting in terms of the opportunities available, the process seemed transparent despite being expensive and requiring patience, and the climate, which in other parts comes close to my country Zimbabwe. I then began relocating to Australia and finally left for Australia on December 25, 2021, with a Permanent Residence Visa Skilled Independent (Points-tested stream) Subclass 189.

The following steps will aid any medical laboratory scientist willing to relocate to Australia using a similar path and with the same visa as I did.

The?process?of obtaining a visa or working in Australia is fairly straightforward, but it takes much longer and is more costly than obtaining a visa to other Western nations. However, the big advantage, besides the country's attractiveness, is that certain skilled persons, including medical laboratory scientists, can obtain 5-year temporary residence or permanent residence visas without setting foot there and without a job or job offer.?

My process followed the following sequence:

?Australia is a multiculturally diverse nation with many languages, but like other countries in the Commonwealth, English is the starting point of everything, particularly in the official space.

?Therefore, the first step is to sit for an English test. There are various versions of English testing systems, including the famous International English Language Testing System (IELTS), Pearson Testing of English (PTE Academic), Test of English as Foreign Language (TOEFL), and Occupational English Test (OET). Please choose the one you want to write about and have the capacity to excel as it counts on the points (coming in the process). Out of these, I took the IELTS (https://www.ielts.org/), and scoring at least 7 in each category is the best. If you can get above that, it will help you with the immigration points (I will explain the point system later). English is required for both The Immigration and The Australian Institute of Medical Scientists (AIMS) https://www.aims.org.au/, and you will use it first for AIMS (which I will explain later).

?Depending on where you are, the IELTS examination costs approximately USD 300 (it would be best to check with the British Council in your country) https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/

?While you are waiting for your English language test results, you need to make sure you have the following documents:

1. All laboratory Qualification degrees, transcripts, and your course syllabus are included. The syllabus lists all the courses or modules your degree or diploma programme has, the units studied, and time spent doing practicals and industrial attachments. They require these to be sent by the institution that you attended. You need to talk with your university or college about handling the process, as some universities require you to pay for the courier fees.
2. Registration and practice certificates from your registration and regulatory bodies in your home country or where you have been registered to practice as a medical laboratory professional. They will contact the registration body to confirm your status; therefore, if you have pending issues, they must be sorted before your papers reach AIMS.
3. Letters of Employment: These letters should state the position you held, the period you worked for, the hours you worked per week, and the duties you performed in that position. In addition, they must be written on company letterheads with the organizational email addresses of the contact person and their qualifications.
4. Passport: A valid passport is required as your identification document.

The second step is to apply for the Qualifications and Skills assessments for a medical laboratory scientist from AIMS.

AIMS has been mandated to assess the qualifications and experience of those wishing to migrate to Australia under the skilled program as Medical Laboratory Scientists.?However, a skills assessment is mandatory for those trained outside Australia, and having AIMS will make your job hunt easier as it will show your competency.

Stage 1 of the assessment involves assessing your documents and work experiences, including your English ability.

The assessment process involves sending reference letters from your previous and current employers, the fully completed application for assessment form (https://www.aims.org.au/documents/item/1939), a copy of your passport, English language test, your registration, and practising certificates (they will contact your registration body about your status). You will also have your university submit your academic record, degree certificate, and course syllabus.

The process for this stage is outlined here:?https://www.aims.org.au/services/assessment-options/medical-laboratory-scientist.?You can apply anytime. The cost for assessment is approximately AUD 900: https://www.aims.org.au/services/assessment-options/Fees-for-Qualification-Assessment.

?After assessment, if you are deemed suitable for medical laboratory scientist skills, you will be provisionally graded as a medical laboratory technician. They will send you a letter and an exam application form, and you will be invited to sit for an AIMS professional examination. Stage 1 takes up to 16 weeks or more because of the increase in applicants and processes.

Stage 2: The assessment involves a written AIMS Professional Examination

The professional examination is now being written as an online, proctored examination. This MCQ examination has processes that ensure you will cheat, access help during the examination, and are visible. All this information will be available once your assessment is done.

You will have to apply for the examination; the earlier, the better. The AIMS Professional Examination has?seven sections?(Anatomical Pathology, Chemical Pathology, Genomic Pathology, Haematology, Immunopathology, Medical Microbiology, and Transfusion Science). Everything you need to know about the examination is available at?https://www.aims.org.au/services/professional-examinations-for-migration/aims-professional-examination.

Examination preparation materials for the AIMS examination

Here are some of the materials that you can add to your recommended study list

Blood Banking https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zSRr60v2dyAuN7kKAja4qukAlbNpMG4C/view?usp=drive_link

Microbiology, Haematology, Clinical Chemistry and Immunology

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WcSAFSo2gxUAF57teXVQRFU6tRrOAaWf/view?usp=drive_link

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uHvj2emFuV8ic4xopJxYc9rug7vytO60/view?usp=drive_link

After completing the examination, obtaining your results takes approximately eight weeks.

Upon successfully completing the AIMS Professional Examination, applicants may be eligible for the?skilled occupation of Medical Laboratory Scientist?and?Professional Membership of AIMS.

You will have to pass the examination with at least 50 % in each of the seven disciplines to be deemed passed, which allows you to apply for a visa as a medical laboratory scientist. Note: Scientists have a more comprehensive selection of visa options. The Medical Laboratory Scientists Exam fee is AUD 800 https://www.aims.org.au/services/assessment-options/Fees-for-Qualification-Assessment.

?After the exam results, they will send you a letter or any other form of communication letting you know that you have either passed or failed the examination, and I hope it will be the former.

Once the results of the examinations are out, you will proceed to the first stage of the immigration process, where you lodge what they call an expression of interest (EOI) online with Skill Select by creating an immiaccount https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/working-in-australia/skillselect/expression-of-interest#.

?In the expression of interest, where you specify the visa type you want, I recommend the skilled independent Visa subclass189. This step is free.

189 is a skilled independent permanent residence (PR) visa (https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/skilled-independent-189).

You will immediately have permanent residence and have access to Medicare (Health Insurance) for you and your family and support payments. You can also settle in any state, anywhere in Australia—more on visa subclass 189 https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/skilled-independent-189.

Visa subclass 491 is similar; however, it is state-sponsored (https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/skilled-work-regional-provisional-491), meaning you will have to reside in the state that sponsors your visa for at least 2 years. Sponsoring here does not mean paying any fees for you; it simply means they write a supporting letter to the Immigration Department stating that your skills are in short supply in their state.

Many opt for visa subclass 491 because it is processed faster than visa 189. Visa subclass 491 also adds 10 points to your points test score threshold (to be discussed below).

Australia and other nations use a point system to determine the eligibility of any migrant to enter their country (https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/skilled-independent-189/points-table). The point test is an objective way to assess your suitability as a skilled migrant. Scores are given for your age, qualifications, English ability, work experience, marital status, and if married, your spouse's skills and English ability. Currently, you need at least 65 points to apply for visa subclass 189(this may change). So, the higher your English scores are, the more points, and the more experienced you are, the more points, but experience has a ceiling, the age you have and qualifications Master’s or Honours by research from an Australian University get you additional points.

More on calculating points for the visa subclass 189 and other visas https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-support/departmental-forms/online-forms/points-calculator

?For the 189, you should have enough funds for your upkeep, but you will not be required to submit proof of that(It may change, no one knows).

After you turn in your EOI, you await an invitation to lodge a visa application. The application system automatically invites applicants to submit their complete applications. Applications with higher points and required skills are invited first. There are limits to the number of invitations sent out each year. There are also ceiling limits for each occupation to avoid taking up all available places by a few?occupations. With more points, you can get an invite within six or fewer months of submitting the EOI. With 80 points, you will receive an invitation in less than three months, and with 90 points, you will certainly get an invitation in weeks. However, this all depends on the quality of EOIs in the pool and the state of the skills they need.

Skills Select will then invite you to lodge a visa application. This invitation is valid for 60 days, so you must submit all your documents within this period and submit the visa application. When invited by Skills Select, lodge an actual visa application online on your immiaccount. Please gather all your documents and make sure they correspond and confirm. You will need all forms of identification, from passports to birth certificates, IDs, driver’s licenses, qualifications, letters of employment, police clearances, and proof of English language proficiency, such as letters from institutions that stipulate English as the medium of instruction. Please provide tax statements, payslips, employment contracts, marriage certificates, and joint bank statements for partners or joint properties. Get police clearances for everyone above 16 years of age, and the cost varies by country. Each member of your household over 16 years of age must obtain police clearance from each country where they have stayed for more than 12 months. In this instance, I advise you to provide any document proving you are competent in this profession. If you have additional training in this field, please include it in your application.

Only upload documents that corroborate and do not submit conflicting documents or information.

Once you submit the required documents, you will receive letters to perform medical examinations with a specific doctor in your country, city, or state. The cost of medical examinations varies depending on the country.

The cost depends on the family size and age of the applicants. As a primary applicant, you will pay roughly AUD 4250. For more information on prices, visit (https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/skilled-independent-189).

After submitting all the required documents to your immi account, you play the waiting game. Wait…… this can be as short as 3 months or as long as a year as they process?your application. The case officer handling your application will be in touch when necessary but will be quiet for the most part, so it will be a long and anxious wait as they do their checks.

?I cannot emphasize this enough:?Please be honest in your application. They will check your information, which may include calling or physically visiting former employers and universities.

Once you are granted the visa, you can travel or even apply for jobs while still there. The visa grant will also specify the date you must enter Australia and the conditions and requirements of the visa.

Although long, the visa process is transparent and largely predictable. If you are invited and submit truthful information, you will most likely get the visa.

The common reasons for a visa refusal are failing the character test (usually forged documents or false information), failing health examinations (that is, if you or any family member has a condition that is of public health concern or expensive to treat and the resources for treatment are in short supply here, e.g., Renal dialysis), or failing background security checks. Some estimates put visa refusals at less than 0.5%.

Of particular importance to note:

I am not an immigration agent or an employee of AIMS or the Department of Immigration and Home Affairs. This information can only be used as a guide, and things change over time. So, I would suggest that you do your due diligence and research. Also, note that my advice is based on the rules and regulations from when I applied, and you also need to verify with AIMS and the Department of Home Affairs and Immigration for updates and corrections as changes are made here and then.

That is it in a nutshell. Please feel free to comment if you need clarification or additional information about the process. You can just put your questions in the comment section so everyone gets help, and I can answer some questions as soon as possible. All the best in your application