Clean record of course!! Thats just how long it took to arrive..
I started the 13a application 6 months before leaving to acquire requirements.. My doctor let me down quite badly and was very very slow helping me to arrange the med tests.. He charged me 100.00 Quid for the medical and the tests were extra.. XRay for example was 100.00.. (Sorry,no Pound key on keyboard)
Anyway.. 6 months was tight (timewise) for me.
Forget copper pipes!! They don't use them here.. All G.I and PVC pipes and fittings..
Strange when you think they have some of the biggest copper deposits in the world!