When did 176 Rules Change?

[The Flinns]

Just been on the new visa wizard on the DIAC website (out of curiosity) and have found that family sponsors no longer have to come from a designated area.

See below:

Skilled – Sponsored (Migrant) visa (subclass 176)
About this Visa How this Visa Works Eligibility Obligations Applying for this Visa
Sponsorship by a relative
You must be sponsored by an eligible relative if you do not have a nomination from a participating State or Territory government.

Who can be a sponsor?
To sponsor a skilled worker you must be at least 18 years of age and usually resident in Australia as one of the following:

an Australian citizen
an Australian permanent resident
an Eligible New Zealand citizen.
See: General Skilled Migration definitions

You, your spouse or your interdependent partner must be related to your sponsor as one of the following:

a non-dependent child – including an adoptive or step-child
a parent – including adoptive or step–parent
a brother or sister – including adoptive or step-siblings
a niece or nephew – including adoptive or step–niece or nephew
an aunt or uncle – including adoptive or step–aunt or uncle
Where can a sponsor be living?
Your sponsor can live anywhere in Australia.



Before lodging an application, please read all related eligibility requirements.
See: Return to previous page

When did these changes come about? As I am having to apply for a regional sponsored 475, although my brother-in-laws family wanted to sponsor us and couldn't because of the old rules.

My next question is, is it possible to change the type of visa we are applying for at this late stage and will it cost us more money or time?

Howard.

[The Flinns]

Just bumping it back up as I need to know.

[Gollywobbler]

Hi Howard

To be honest I don't know when it changed or even whether it changed. I'm not a migration agent. If there was a material change at any time in the last 5 years or so, the chances are that Alan Collett of Go Matilda will have described it in one of his regular news articles:

Go Matilda - Your Gateway to Australia - News

If you can qualify for a subclass 176 visa there is nothing to stop you from applying for one but it would have to be a new application from scratch and a new fee. You can't ask DIAC to switch you from your current 475 application to a 176 application because the visas are in different Classes.

If it really would only be a matter of a new skilled application fee of $2,145 or so then it would obviously be worth a new application in order to get PR in Australia from Day One. You would either withdraw the old application or leave it running concurrently with the new one, because the grant of a 176 visa would automatically cancel any 475 visa that you might hold at the time anyway.

However:

As I am having to apply for a regional sponsored 475, although my brother-in-laws family wanted to sponsor us and couldn't because of the old rules.

Your brother in law is presumably your wife's brother, so he could have sponsored you for a 176. But what do you mean by your brother-in-law's family? What relation are they to you? For instance, first cousins won't do for the 176 visa but they can sponsor a 475 visa as long as they live in a regional area etc.

Are you sure that you have really cracked it with who can sponsor a 176 visa and who can't?

Best wishes

Gill

[The Flinns]

Hi Gill

Thanks for your advice. The sponsor would be my wifes brother who took up citizenship some 10+ years ago.

I will have to weigh up whether it would be worth paying the fee or just waiting for 2 years and the applying for PR after that.

My main concern is that I have 2 sons who will both be wanting to go to college/TAFE and I know that by being on the 475 I will have to pay overseas student fees, which I understand are considerably higher.

Howard.

[Gollywobbler]

Hi Howard

Be careful with the points test.

With the subclass 475 visa you get 25 points for sponsorship by an eligible relative.

Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) visa (subclass 475)

With the subclass 176 visa you get no points for sponsorship by an eligible relative:

Skilled – Sponsored (Migrant) visa (subclass 176)

Could this be the reason why your Agents have set you on the path of the 457 visa?

Do the Points Test for both visas, I would suggest:

Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) visa (subclass 475)

Skilled – Sponsored (Migrant) visa (subclass 176)

Do not assume that the points are identical in both cases. They may not be. Check it all very carefully by clicking on the relevant links as you go through each one, I suggest.

If you can manage without the 25 points, I would certainly give serious consideration to applying for a subclass 176 visa as well or instead if I were in your shoes.

How old are your children at present?

Best wishes

Gill

[Sam&Si]

Hi Howard,

We're going on 176 family sponsored , not sure when it changed but it must have been after we started our process which was September 2007.....

Cheers

[chris_mac]

Hi, it changed last september! We applied to the old TRA prior to sept then had our application returned when they removed skill path D, When we re applied after sept we where told our family could sponsor us..

Chris

General Electrician
Applied TRA Aug 07
TRA Retuned Oct (Skill path D removed)
Re-applied Vetassess 01.01.08
Vetassess Paper Assess Passed 10.04.08
House up for sale 28.03.08 sold 14.04.08 (3 weeks, crikey)
Vetassess Practical 15.07.08
Practical Passed 11.08.08
176 Visa Application submitted 11.09.08
DIAC Acknowledgement 24.09.08