How to immigrate as a professional pharmacist to Australia?

The process of immigration will be as follow:

• Initial assessment.
• KAPS exam.
• English test.
• State nomination.
• Apply for the visa.
• Grant.
• Travel to Australia
• Do the academic English OET, PTE, IELTS or TOEFL then apply for provisional registration with the pharmacy board of Australia
• The internship period spends 1800 hours (1500 in the coronavirus situation)
• Start your internship then written test and oral test to the Full registration

NOTE: Every step to immigration will cost you money it differs from time to time and the cost is going to be more expensive due to big competition on visas

The cost of this process is approximate as follows:

• 3350 AUD KAPS step includes (initial assessment + KAPS exam)
• 4100 AUD visa (for the main applicant only)
• 1000 AUD English (for more than one attempt)
• 1000 AUD flight ticket (at least now due to coronavirus restrictions)
• 1000 AUD other expenses
• 6000 AUD with you to spend from when you are there
• Many jobs are available, not related to the pharmacy you or someone in your family can do until you find a job related to your pharmaceutical work and quickly will compensate all the above costs that you spent in a few months (2-3 months)
• Sure, this amount of money will not be paid at one time

Important immigration questions and notes

1.  Does the initial assessment have validity?
2. No. once you get the eligibility letter you can apply for the exam whenever you are ready, and it will last forever
3.  Does the initial assessment enable me to migrate to Australia without taking the exam?
4. No. The skill assessment condition is considered to be done when you pass the KAPS test.
5. KAPS exam validity is 3 years you must do your provisional registration in this period
6. Translation of the papers that you need for the initial registration must be NAATI translation
7. NAATI website is www.naati.com.au go for contact us then the online directory after that select translator and language after that you will get which countries NAATI translation is available in (Oman, Egypt, Jordan, and UAE for Arabic-English translation)
8. You have the choice to do it online in any office in Australia and they will send you the papers translated by email  
9. Take this note you need full translation for your papers
10. 600 dpi resolution or more for the paper before applying
11. If any paper is not NAATI translated your assessment will be rejected and only you have one month to correct the mistake, or you will pay again for the assessment 

• Should the papers submitted to the Australian pharmacy council be certified by the ministry of foreign affairs Australia and/or the Australian embassy?

No, only translated NAATI

These are the steps for applying for the initial assessment

The name on each document must be the name on the passport and the color scan MUST BE with 600dpi resolution.

The below documents are mandatory:

1. Original degree certificate from the university
2. Original academic transcript (all pages of the document must be scanned and saved in one pdf file).
3. Original registration overseas in the country where you completed your pharmacy qualification
4. Passport first three papers no need for translation. Expired passports will not be accepted.
5. A photograph (Australian passport size) of yourself taken within the last six months at 600dpi resolution or higher with white background.
6. This step is not mandatory: (only done if you want the APC to comment on your experience)
7. Up-to-date Curriculum Vitae (CV). Your CV must show start and finish dates for each period of employment as a fully registered pharmacist
8. Original work reference templates (all pages of the document must be scanned and saved as one pdf file)
9. An important note is that you can skip the employment step as it is not mandatory. And you can only need to provide the employment evidence at the step of visa application
10. Waiting for 8 weeks or 2 months to get the eligibility letter which enables you to enter the KAPS exam is a must

KAPS EXAM

• KAPS exam validity is 3 years, and the results will be done after around 1 month.
• Two papers, 100 questions in each paper, multiple-choice questions, and 50% correct answers are required to pass the exam,
  • Paper 2: Pharmaceutics and Therapeutics 
  • Paper 1: Pharmacology, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, and Physiology

•  Do I have to take an English test after or before the KAPS exam???      The English language test can be taken after the KAPS exam and it

is preferred to be (OET or PTE) so you can use it for the registration and for the immigration, or you can do the preparation at the same time if you have plenty of time

• What would happen if I did not pass one paper, what would I do?

Repeat this paper but you will pay the full exam fee and it is no limited number for repeating the exam

• English test:

One of the most important things in your way for migration as well as registration for migration

• 4 types of exams are recognized for the department of immigration (TOEFL IBT, IELTS general, OET, and PTE). Personally, I recommend PTE or OET you can score more points for immigration compared to the IELTS effort
• You need to achieve either competent, proficient, or superior and every level has its points
• Validity is 3 years from the date of the certificate.

Nomination step:

• Link is down
• Create EOI at the site of the department of immigration and it must be targeted the life in the aim state
• Contact the state and see their requirements and prepare your papers and apply
• If there are two or more states open, create EOI for each state with different emails.
• When you get invited to apply for a visa upload your papers and wait around 4 months to be granted
• After granting prepare yourself to come to Australia

This is a sample of the Assessment Letter

Useful links:

• Pharmacy council of Australia www.pharmacycouncil.org.au

• For more info about visas, prices go to: www.immi.homeaffairs.gov.au

then visas then getting a visa then fees and charges current prices

• CONTACT for the APC: APC Exams Team.

Email: exams@pharmacycouncil.org.au     

Phone: +61 26188 4288

Examination team: to answer your questions.

Phone: +61 2 6188 4288

Email: exams@pharmacycouncil.org.au

• EXAM DATES AND PLACES https://www.pharmacycouncil.org.au/our-services/examinations/exam-dates-and-places/

• Second, this link explains the whole process for stream A (overseas pharmacists that are NOT registered in Canada, USA, UK, and Ireland)
  https://www.pharmacycouncil.org.au/our-services/assessments/stream-a.pdf

• NAATI website: www.naati.com.au

• Link of nomination and visas requirements
  https://www.anzscosearch.com/

• Our website: www.pharmgboard.com

All social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube are under the same name

All steps to be an Australian pharmacist

Step 1

Visit the Australian Pharmacy Council website https://www.pharmacycouncil.org.au/

and create profile

• Apply for the Australian Pharmacy Council Stream An Eligibility Assessment
• Documents required:   
• Proof of complication of approved (4 years full time) pharmacy qualification
• Proof of registration or eligibility for registration in the country of pharmacy qualification
• Full academic transcript
• Cost and time frame for team An Assessment $1230, 8 weeks

Then wait for a maximum of 2 months for the confirmation.

Step 2

• Apply for knowledge Assessment of pharmaceutical Sciences examination (2 Papers)
• Paper 1: Pharmaceutical chemistry, physiology, Pathophysiology, and Pharmacology
• Paper 2: Pharmaceutics Therapeutics.
• Cost and Duration: $2060, 3 times/year (April, June, December)

Step 3

Pharmacists who pass the KAPS Exam will be issued with a skills assessment eligibility letter

Step 4

Apply for provisional registration through the Pharmacy Board of Australia

Fees: $204 (application fees) and $164 (provisional registration fees)

Step 5

Apply for the mandatory internship program: Total of 1842 hours

Step 6

 Apply for written examination for interns through the Pharmacy Board of Australia.

Fees: $676, 5 times/year (Feb, Apr, Jun, Aug, and Dec) Appear in the exam after finishing 30% of internship hours.

Step 7

 Apply for Oral Examination through the Pharmacy Board of Australia.

 Fees: $405 after finishing the written exam and 75% of internship hours.

Step 8

 Apply for registration through the Pharmacy Board of Australia.

Fees: Application fees are $164, Registration fees are $ 500

All currency is AUD Australian dollars