175 or SkillSelect?

I now find myself in the enviable position of having enough points to lodge a 175, and can't quite bring myself to do it. I was all frantic getting the pieces in place to beat the deadline, but now that I have, I'm actually tempted to sit it out and wait for July 1st. We're visiting Oz in July to attend a wedding (was planned ages ago and had nothing to do with all this visa business), and this will be the first time there for the wife and kids. They might well end up hating it, in which case we'd likely pull the plug on the whole thing, saving the $3000 which we could really use if we choose to stay (and go down with the sinking ship, but that's another story entirely).

Advice to you single folk out there - if you're thinking of giving Oz a go, do it now before you get hitched!

To those couples without kids (who plan on having them eventually), it's far easier (and cheaper) to move 2 adults than a family of 3, 4 or more.

And to the rest, the very best of luck to you with sorting out schools, uniforms, suburbs, childcare, dealing with kids' emotions about moving while managing your own, etc.

My profession is still on the new SOL, and from what I've heard SS equals an automatic invitation to apply under SkillSelect, so I don't have much to lose by waiting. What I don't quite get though is how the occupation ceilings come into play - what if I have SS but the ceiling for my occupation has already been reached for the year? Is it pretty much over then until the next year?

Sorry for the reflective, rambling intro to this post. But it would be interesting to know that there are people who are conciously deciding to put their faith in SkillSelect even as the sun sets on the "old system"!

hi there dont have an answer but Funny i poised a similar question earlier, although i have just submitted my 175. but interested in reading your responses! And yes it is somewhat more straightforward prior to family beginnings...emotionally if nothing else!!

Good luck!

hi there dont have an answer but Funny i poised a similar question earlier, although i have just submitted my 175. but interested in reading your responses! And yes it is somewhat more straightforward prior to family beginnings...emotionally if nothing else!!

Good luck!

Well done, you are well and truly committed now! I'm sure all will go swimmingly now that you've lodged, but good luck to you all the same!

I now find myself in the enviable position of having enough points to lodge a 175, and can't quite bring myself to do it. I was all frantic getting the pieces in place to beat the deadline, but now that I have, I'm actually tempted to sit it out and wait for July 1st. We're visiting Oz in July to attend a wedding (was planned ages ago and had nothing to do with all this visa business), and this will be the first time there for the wife and kids. They might well end up hating it, in which case we'd likely pull the plug on the whole thing, saving the $3000 which we could really use if we choose to stay (and go down with the sinking ship, but that's another story entirely).

 

Advice to you single folk out there - if you're thinking of giving Oz a go, do it now before you get hitched!

To those couples without kids (who plan on having them eventually), it's far easier (and cheaper) to move 2 adults than a family of 3, 4 or more.

And to the rest, the very best of luck to you with sorting out schools, uniforms, suburbs, childcare, dealing with kids' emotions about moving while managing your own, etc.

 

My profession is still on the new SOL, and from what I've heard SS equals an automatic invitation to apply under SkillSelect, so I don't have much to lose by waiting. What I don't quite get though is how the occupation ceilings come into play - what if I have SS but the ceiling for my occupation has already been reached for the year? Is it pretty much over then until the next year?

 

Sorry for the reflective, rambling intro to this post. But it would be interesting to know that there are people who are conciously deciding to put their faith in SkillSelect even as the sun sets on the "old system"!

Great and sound advice. I'm in the same position as you - enough points to proceed with a 175 but wondering if I should just wait it out until July 1. In my case, I'm single but I just can't come to grips with the idea of spending $3000 and risk a rejection letter from the DIAC. Money like that should never be wasted. At least with an invitation through SkillSelect, there's some guarantee. Anyways, this response is a day or two old so I'm curious to know if you've gone through with the 175. I'm a little worried that my plan to wait until SkillSelect might backfire and leave me high and dry without an invite.

The only benefit you have about waiting until SKillselect is the lowered passmark - or if you are in Australia you will be able to apply onshore.

Getting an invite will not give you any guarantee - it will actually make it harder - as you will have to prove every point you state you have. Currently as long as you pass the points test you will get a visa - after 1 July what you state on your skillselect must be the number of points that your CO will assess you as. Therefore if on your Skillselect you state that you have 70 points (with 5 years work experience for example) - but your CO says that you have less work experience (than 5 years) that you stated you will loose 5 points and only have 65 points - you still meet the pass mark but you will not get a visa - it has also been stated by DIAC if you over inflate your points to what you are assessed to have you could receive a ban from making further applications.

You are more likely to get a rejection after 1 July, than before. Currently some CO will just assess you up to the 65 points, therefore you dont need to provide years and years of payslips, bank statements, tax returns and P60's. We only provided 1 pay slip, and few referance letters, we were not asked for anymore.

Apply now - it will likely be by the time the first round of invitaitons are given out you could already have a CO.

The only benefit you have about waiting until SKillselect is the lowered passmark - or if you are in Australia you will be able to apply onshore.

 

Getting an invite will not give you any guarantee - it will actually make it harder - as you will have to prove every point you state you have. Currently as long as you pass the points test you will get a visa - after 1 July what you state on your skillselect must be the number of points that your CO will assess you as. Therefore if on your Skillselect you state that you have 70 points (with 5 years work experience for example) - but your CO says that you have less work experience (than 5 years) that you stated you will loose 5 points and only have 65 points - you still meet the pass mark but you will not get a visa - it has also been stated by DIAC if you over inflate your points to what you are assessed to have you could receive a ban from making further applications.

 

You are more likely to get a rejection after 1 July, than before. Currently some CO will just assess you up to the 65 points, therefore you dont need to provide years and years of payslips, bank statements, tax returns and P60's. We only provided 1 pay slip, and few referance letters, we were not asked for anymore.

 

Apply now - it will likely be by the time the first round of invitaitons are given out you could already have a CO.

Your illustration there has left me a little puzzled. If my assessment letter states that I have +5 years work experience, does a CO have the authority to say, "No, this guy actually has 4 years of relevant experience"??? If that's the case, then why bother getting an employment/qualification assessment at all?

Basically, when it comes to SkillSelect, I'm only reporting what I have - no inflation necessary. And what I have is documentation indicating my relevant work experience, qualification, IELTS marks, etc. Let me know if I've completely misunderstood you.

Btw, thanks for your quick reply!

Your illustration there has left me a little puzzled. If my assessment letter states that I have +5 years work experience, does a CO have the authority to say, "No, this guy actually has 4 years of relevant experience"??? If that's the case, then why bother getting an employment/qualification assessment at all?

Yes the DIAC have the authority to say no. DIAC can also say that even though you have a positive skills assessment your work exerpience is not relevent.

Most agents will say not to get employment assessed, as they dont have the authority to assess work experience and it is for "advisory" purposes only.

"Your relevant Assessing Authority which undertook your skills assessment may also provide an opinion on your skilled employment experience. The department will consider the Assessing Authority’s opinion when awarding points." http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/175/points-work-experience-study.htm

Basically, when it comes to SkillSelect, I'm only reporting what I have - no inflation necessary. And what I have is documentation indicating my relevant work experience, qualification, IELTS marks, etc.

Maybe you should ask a RMA if you should apply not or wait and see if you will get a invite from Skillselect. Remember there are no refunds if you make a mistake/refusal of your application, also 175 visas do not have review rights.

Yes the DIAC have the authority to say no. DIAC can also say that even though you have a positive skills assessment your work exerpience is not relevent.

 

Most agents will say not to get employment assessed, as they dont have the authority to assess work experience and it is for "advisory" purposes only.

 

"Your relevant Assessing Authority which undertook your skills assessment may also provide an opinion on your skilled employment experience. The department will consider the Assessing Authority’s opinion when awarding points." http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/175/points-work-experience-study.htm

 

If DIAC, state you dont have the points you think you have - even if you pass the points test, you either get put back in to Skillselect - EOI que, or get a ban from further applications.

 

Maybe you should ask a RMA if you should apply not or wait and see if you will get a invite from Skillselect. Remember there are no refunds if you make a mistake/refusal of your application, also 175 visas do not have review rights.

Thanks for that response. I did in fact speak with a friend who's also an RMA out of Brisbane. He strongly recommended submitting a 175 before the end of the month (I'm in eastern Canada, so I've got until the end of Thursday to submit something). Apparently, the last client he submitted a 175 app for had a CO assigned to him/her within nine weeks.

Here's what bothers me (and it's really a personal obstacle to overcome more than anything). Dropping $3K for a visa that I might not be approved for scares me senseless. I do have the points for it but the DIAC website specifically addresses the possibility of being denied for a 175 (see below):

[h=3]"If the visa is not approved[/h] You will be notified in writing of the decision to refuse your application. You will also be advised if you are eligible to seek a review of the decision made and the time you have to do so or your time limit to depart Australia. The review will address the merits of the decision and will be undertaken by a body independent of the department.

You, or the person you have authorised to act and receive communication on your behalf, will be taken to have received the letter:

• seven working days after the date of the letter, if the letter was sent to an address in Australia

  or

• 21 working days after the date of the letter, if the letter was sent to an address outside Australia.

If the letter is handed to you, you will be taken to have been notified at that moment.

If the letter is faxed or emailed to you, you will be taken to have been notified at the end of the day it was faxed or emailed."

I'm just curious where you found the information about how a passing points mark will guarantee me a visa under the current system? Let me know, pls & thx!

I'm just curious where you found the information about how a passing points mark will guarantee me a visa under the current system?

As I said you have to prove all your points with skillselect - currently you need to be able to pass points test which is set at 65.

There is no guarantee that after 1 July you will get an invitation to apply. Therefore that may be a bigger gabmle than the $3k visa application charge. Also Visa application charges usually increase every year in July - last year I think it increased about $400.

If you pass the points test, can pass the medical and no character issues, you will more than likely get your visa. Thre are a number of timeline threads running on the forum - have a look at them. There is not many people that are refused for a visa.

Most refusals (and I am only speaking about 3 or 4) I have seen here over the last few months have been - due to people not reading the information properly and not submitting IELTS results, they think that because they are a teacher, have english degree, or not adding points correctly, or DIAC not accepting pre-qualification work experience. IELTS can not be from a test date after submitting application.

You have until midnight on 30 June - AUstralian Eastern time to submitt your application, but there will likely be a rush of applications so would do it asap.

You have 28 days after your application in lodged to upload your doicuments.

If you are invited to apply, you will have to demonstrate that the claims in your expression of interest are correct http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/pdf/points-tested-migration-fact-sheet.pdf

If you are invited to apply for a visa, the information in your EOI will be used as part of your visa application. You will then need to confirm your claims and submit evidence with your application.

If you provide false or misleading information on your EOI and receive an invitation based on this information, your application may be refused. If your visa application is refused you will lose your visa application charge and may also be subject to a bar which prevents the grant of a further visa. http://migrationblog.immi.gov.au/2012/05/14/busting-the-myths-about-skillselect/

We have just faced the same dilemma, we wanted to apply SS as quicker processing time but got skills assessment back only 3 days before SA closed their applications (15/06/12) so could not meet the deadline. So had to make decision whether to make 175 app or wait for skill select. We have never visited Oz so question was do we pay out for the visa and risk hating it when we visit later in the year or wait and see absolutely love it and then never get the opportunity to apply as not picked through skill select. We decided to take the risk and put our app in last Friday. For me as main applicant - nurse age 39 it just seemed a safer bet as bar any major probs I should almost certainly get the visa whereas in skill select I will be competing with 100's of others potentially with higher scores through their being younger and having more years experience and so may never get invite. Good luck to you in whatever you decide

mem

I dont think that I have said this - there is NO guarentee that you will get a visa which ever system you apply under - but you have a better chance of getting a visa under the current system than you have with SKillselect.

 

As I said you have to prove all your points with skillselect - currently you need to be able to pass points test which is set at 65.

 

There is no guarantee that after 1 July you will get an invitation to apply. Therefore that may be a bigger gabmle than the $3k visa application charge. Also Visa application charges usually increase every year in July - last year I think it increased about $400.

 

If you pass the points test, can pass the medical and no character issues, you will more than likely get your visa. Thre are a number of timeline threads running on the forum - have a look at them. There is not many people that are refused for a visa.

 

Most refusals (and I am only speaking about 3 or 4) I have seen here over the last few months have been - due to people not reading the information properly and not submitting IELTS results, they think that because they are a teacher, have english degree, or not adding points correctly, or DIAC not accepting pre-qualification work experience. IELTS can not be from a test date after submitting application.

 

You have until midnight on 30 June - AUstralian Eastern time to submitt your application, but there will likely be a rush of applications so would do it asap.

 

You have 28 days after your application in lodged to upload your doicuments.

 

 

If you are invited to apply, you will have to demonstrate that the claims in your expression of interest are correct http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/pdf/points-tested-migration-fact-sheet.pdf

 

If you are invited to apply for a visa, the information in your EOI will be used as part of your visa application. You will then need to confirm your claims and submit evidence with your application.

If you provide false or misleading information on your EOI and receive an invitation based on this information, your application may be refused. If your visa application is refused you will lose your visa application charge and may also be subject to a bar which prevents the grant of a further visa. http://migrationblog.immi.gov.au/2012/05/14/busting-the-myths-about-skillselect/

You really know your sh*t lol. Thanks.

I was dubious about the Skill Select, likening it to the NZ system in that it would be much harder to apply but they have increased places and its obviously for the benefit of Oz making it easier to hand pick applicants rather than go through the process and then refuse a visa.

Your visit will be good on your future application and your spouse does need to think about it for herself, best not to oversell it to her either, let her make her own mind up.

Great and sound advice. I'm in the same position as you - enough points to proceed with a 175 but wondering if I should just wait it out until July 1. In my case, I'm single but I just can't come to grips with the idea of spending $3000 and risk a rejection letter from the DIAC. Money like that should never be wasted. At least with an invitation through SkillSelect, there's some guarantee. Anyways, this response is a day or two old so I'm curious to know if you've gone through with the 175. I'm a little worried that my plan to wait until SkillSelect might backfire and leave me high and dry without an invite.

To answer your question, no, I have not gone ahead with the 175 as yet (still have a day to decide). If I were in your shoes, I'd be inclined to agree with lebourvellec and apply now if you have the points. If for whatever reasons your application is rejected, then those same reasons would be likely to cause your SkillSelect-based application to be rejected too. It may make sense to wait if for example you're still waiting for state sponsorship to come through, or you have some other personal circumstances that demand you wait. There is no guarantee when it comes to immigration applications, so the question you should ask yourself is how certain would you be to move Down Under if you were actually granted a visa. The scenario I'm trying to avoid is spending $3000, getting the visa, and then not using it after all.

We have just faced the same dilemma, we wanted to apply SS as quicker processing time but got skills assessment back only 3 days before SA closed their applications (15/06/12) so could not meet the deadline. So had to make decision whether to make 175 app or wait for skill select. We have never visited Oz so question was do we pay out for the visa and risk hating it when we visit later in the year or wait and see absolutely love it and then never get the opportunity to apply as not picked through skill select. We decided to take the risk and put our app in last Friday. For me as main applicant - nurse age 39 it just seemed a safer bet as bar any major probs I should almost certainly get the visa whereas in skill select I will be competing with 100's of others potentially with higher scores through their being younger and having more years experience and so may never get invite. Good luck to you in whatever you decide

mem

Good luck to you, memmymooch! Based on your assessment, I reckon you did the right thing by applying now. I guess for my situation the only reason I even considered risking going with SkillSelect is that I have a couple (yes, 2!:confused:) applications for SS in the pipeline, so if after we return from our trip and figure we absolutely love it and want to move there, we would potentially have options to do so (ok, so I am assuming quite a bit here).

I was dubious about the Skill Select, likening it to the NZ system in that it would be much harder to apply but they have increased places and its obviously for the benefit of Oz making it easier to hand pick applicants rather than go through the process and then refuse a visa.

 

Your visit will be good on your future application and your spouse does need to think about it for herself, best not to oversell it to her either, let her make her own mind up.

Concerning SkillSelect, I guess a lot remains to be seen on how the invitation process actually plays out. In principle, I see nothing wrong with Australia wanting to hand-pick applicants provided the criteria used in the process are transparent, fair and make good sense for the country. Getting it right though is another thing, especially where government is involved! Yes, I hope she will be able to see it for what it is and make an informed decision. Always hard to do though when you're on holiday, and even harder considering that we'll be accompanied by my parents, brother and his wife for much of the trip! Overwhelming!:arghh:

Yes the DIAC have the authority to say no. DIAC can also say that even though you have a positive skills assessment your work exerpience is not relevent.

 

Most agents will say not to get employment assessed, as they dont have the authority to assess work experience and it is for "advisory" purposes only.

 

"Your relevant Assessing Authority which undertook your skills assessment may also provide an opinion on your skilled employment experience. The department will consider the Assessing Authority’s opinion when awarding points." http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/175/points-work-experience-study.htm

 

If DIAC, state you dont have the points you think you have - even if you pass the points test, you either get put back in to Skillselect - EOI que, or get a ban from further applications.

 

Maybe you should ask a RMA if you should apply not or wait and see if you will get a invite from Skillselect. Remember there are no refunds if you make a mistake/refusal of your application, also 175 visas do not have review rights.

Out of curiosity, under the current process will you be told at some stage how many points you gained from your application?

Out of curiosity, under the current process will you be told at some stage how many points you gained from your application?

No

You are only told if you dont meet the pass mark and they are considering refusing your visa

I now find myself in the enviable position of having enough points to lodge a 175, and can't quite bring myself to do it. I was all frantic getting the pieces in place to beat the deadline, but now that I have, I'm actually tempted to sit it out and wait for July 1st. We're visiting Oz in July to attend a wedding (was planned ages ago and had nothing to do with all this visa business), and this will be the first time there for the wife and kids. They might well end up hating it, in which case we'd likely pull the plug on the whole thing, saving the $3000 which we could really use if we choose to stay (and go down with the sinking ship, but that's another story entirely).

 

Advice to you single folk out there - if you're thinking of giving Oz a go, do it now before you get hitched!

To those couples without kids (who plan on having them eventually), it's far easier (and cheaper) to move 2 adults than a family of 3, 4 or more.

And to the rest, the very best of luck to you with sorting out schools, uniforms, suburbs, childcare, dealing with kids' emotions about moving while managing your own, etc.

 

My profession is still on the new SOL, and from what I've heard SS equals an automatic invitation to apply under SkillSelect, so I don't have much to lose by waiting. What I don't quite get though is how the occupation ceilings come into play - what if I have SS but the ceiling for my occupation has already been reached for the year? Is it pretty much over then until the next year?

 

Sorry for the reflective, rambling intro to this post. But it would be interesting to know that there are people who are conciously deciding to put their faith in SkillSelect even as the sun sets on the "old system"!

So what's the verdict? 175 or SkillSelect?

So what's the verdict? 175 or SkillSelect?

Just submitted an EOI! Now it's off to pack for my vacation to Oz!!!:cool:

Btw, it's interesting that while I am still waiting for state sponsorship from either VIC or NSW, there appears to be no way to update my EOI once one of them does come through.I can check the box to express an interest in a 190 visa, but how do I indicate that I have already obtained state sponsorship? Cross that bridge when I come to it I suppose.