SOMV

Did you mention your child at all, even though you do not have the passport details? If you did not, this means that you have not yet paid his/her visa application fee. You should contact the Department and explain that you need to add your child, and why he/she was not mentioned (just say that you did not have the passport details and you did not want to make up a passport number on the form). To do this you can prepare a Form 1023 and a Form 1440. Both of these can be downloaded from the Department's website. Once you have the passport you can email them both the forms to the Department and also attach them to your online application, together with your child's birth certificate and passport.

You do not need to worry about the police checks or the medicals until they are requested by the Department. This normally happens within about 2 months of your visa application being submitted, once an actual live person (case officer) has looked over your application and all of the documents you have attached. All the instructions about how and when to apply (for the medicals and the police checks) will be emailed over to you by the Department. There is no need to stress.

Do you mean that when you print out the copy of your visa application there is nothing at all under the section that identifies the nomination to which your visa is linked? Normally you can't lodge a visa application without inputting a nomination that the system recognises. I am not sure where you are based but I'd give the Europe Service Centre a call to double check on this: http://uk.embassy.gov.au/lhlh/IMMI_contact.html

Hi again, I don't really understand what kind of help you are asking for: you have already applied for your visa, have you not? If you have then there is nothing for you to do now; you need to wait to hear from your case officer. If you have not yet prepared a statement to explain about why you breached your student visa conditions then you may want to begin preparing this in case it is requested. You will need to explain the circumstances, what happened, why, why you were wrong to overstay and so on. If you are asking for someone to tell you that it is fine, because they have been in the same circumstances and they were granted a visa, then I understand. But there is nobody here or anywhere else with identical circumstances to you, so it may be best to wait until you hear from the Department before you spend more time worrying. Best of luck! Veronika

You can arrive in Australia on your student visa up to 90 days before your course starts. But you cannot start working until your course has actually started. So you should begin preparing your student visa application online (you will have to have your Confirmation of Enrolment) and see when the system lets you submit the visa application before the 90 day period.

The 3 year ban can be waived if you are applying, or have applied, for a permanent visa. But the ban and the circumstances surrounding it will definitely be taken into account when the Department is considering your character.

Nesma a "company secretary" as a skilled occupation is entirely different from the occupation of a "secretary (general)" working in a / for a company. It is unclear from your message whether you are the former or the latter, but just to give you an idea, if you are a "company secretary" you have certain responsibilities that are very much similar to the role of a director of a company. From the ANZSCO, you need to do this kind of work: AUDITORS, COMPANY SECRETARIES AND CORPORATE TREASURERS conduct audits of accounting systems, procedures and financial statements, manage corporate funding and financial risk, and administer and review corporate compliance activities. And here is an excellent definition of the role: http://www.icaew.com/-/media/corporate/files/library/collections/online-resources/briefings/directors-briefings/st9cosec.ashx Are you listed on the company's register as the Company Secretary? If you are just a general secretary then that occupation is not listed on the SOL or CSOL which means that you cannot apply for a state sponsored visa as any skilled visa application has to be based on a SOL or CSOL listed occupation,

Yes there is a lot of overlap, but yes you still need to include the statement. So you can either cut and paste from your statement, or, in the online boxes you can simply write "please see attached joint statement".

Your visa application is submitted as soon as you pay the visa application fee. In fact you should receive an email confirming this, and your payment, almost immediately after the payment is made. You can upload documents at any point after you have submitted the application, but the more you upload before the application is actually looked at by a case officer, the better off you are, as there will be less for him/her to request. From memory I am quite sure that you can upload both df and jpeg files, but if not, or if they are too big n size, the system will let you know. Sometimes browsers do affect the way the online system works: for example, until last week I was using Chrome without an issue. Now (I think this is due to a Chrome update) the pages are not displaying properly for me on Chrome, but they are fine on Safari. So if something doesn't appear to be working, it is worthwhile trying another browser, just in case the issue is with the browser rather than the actual website. I should also say, if you are applying for a partner visa you have to complete the Sponsorship application once the actual visa application is submitted and paid for. Don't put this off, do it straight away. Hope that helps!

All visa applicants, including non-migrating children, have to undertake medical checks. What the medical checks will consist of depends on the age of the applicant (ie: medical checks for children and infants are a lot simpler than the checks for adults). This link is a good starting point about the medical checks and the health criteria: https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa/Heal/meeting-the-health-requirement/health-examinations

This means that your medical checks have been finalised and you do not need to do anything else about your health checks. On the other hand, your application has not yet been finalised. Have you received an email from your case officer asking for more documents?

The skills assessment from ANMAC is valid for 2 years from the date that it is issued. And don't forget that your skills assessment must be valid at the time your Expression of Interest goes in, and also at the time that you submit your skilled visa application.

Yes, I think the best strategy is to get the qualification assessment from vetassess in to them as soon as possible, as they do take a long time. You have more or less been referred to them anyway, since the ACS has indicated that they are not able to assess your qualification. Maybe you should drop them an email and explain the situation (as you have done above) and just get them to confirm that you can ask for the points advice now.

Generally the more points you score, the better off you are, and yes, you can complete an IELTS General (easier) test in order to claim points for your English skills. There is no problem with that at all.

You should contact the Vetassess for help: http://www.vetassess.com.au/skills-assessment-for-migration/points-test-advice

I am afraid that New Zealand will not be a very friendly alternative if your answer to the question: Have you ever overstayed a visa or been deported or been banned from re-entry in any other country is "Yes". I am just mentioning this as NZ is, in my opinion, far tougher than Australia when it comes to character issues. Cheerio, Veronika

At the bottom of your signature/message it looks like you have already submitted a visa application. That's why I asked. The occupation of Personal Care Assistant is not listed on the SOL or CSOL lists. This means that you cannot apply for a 457 under this occupation. The occupation of Personal Care Assistant is a Skill Level 4 on the ANZSCO and the RSMS visa is normally available to Skill Level 1 to 3 occupations only. Maybe an exception would apply if a Labour Agreement was in place, but I am honestly not sure about that. There are lots of criteria that have to be satisfied with this visa. Have you read through the relevant pages on the Department's website? https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/187- Have you actually found an Australian employer who is based in a regional area and is happy to sponsor you?

Hi Val, I think that what I wrote above and the policy doesn't really make sense. Sorry. Mental lapse. So just to clarify my post above: Your visa expiry date definitely should not be the same as the date your visa was granted. Your visa expiry date should be however long the employer said they are happy to sponsor you. Normally employers go for the full maximum 4 years from date of grant. You cannot get a 457 expiry date extended by asking for a correction on the visa grant letter. Not unless a mistake was clearly made by the case officer in the grant letter. But it doesn't sounds like a mistake was made. So your visa expiry period is exactly what is indicated in your visa grant letter.

The Commission reported back in April this year. All of a sudden this becomes a "permanent parent visas to be abolished" headline? The commission reported on the following, on other words, it was specifically asked to look at this idea: the Commission has been asked to assess, a single price would be charged for all immigrants (outside the humanitarian stream), determined either through a tender, an auction or by government. It would replace the current plethora of 18 MIGRANT INTAKE INTO AUSTRALIA different visa classes, fees and charges, as well as the current administrative selection mechanisms, although current character, health and security checks would be retained.... And it reported as follows: "Given the balance of the costs and benefits, the case for retaining parent visas in their current form is weak. In the short term, a partial remedy would be to lower the taxpayer funded subsidy for contributory parent visas by considerably raising the visa charge, and to introduce more narrowly focused non-contributory parent visas. This would involve narrowing eligibility to non-contributory parent visas to cases where there are strong compassionate grounds. The impact of this tightening could be partly offset by the introduction of more flexible temporary parent visa arrangements, subject to the parents or sponsoring children meeting the costs of any income or health support during their period of residence. The resulting (large) fiscal savings could be better directed at more vulnerable members of the Australian community and at reducing the more general pressures of an ageing population." The Commission then recommended that: "The Australian Government should amend arrangements for permanent parent visa applicants. In the short term, it should: • increase substantially the charge for contributory parent visas • narrow eligibility to non-contributory parent visas to cases where there are strong compassionate grounds to do so, accompanied by clear published criteria to limit applications for such visas • consider lowering the caps for contributory parent visas • introduce a more flexible temporary parent visa that would provide longer rights of residence, but with requirements, as for other temporary visas, that the parents or sponsoring child would meet the costs of any income or health supports during the period of residence." And: "The Australian Government should request the Australian Government Actuary to update its actuarial analysis of the long-term fiscal consequences of immigrants arriving under the parent visa stream, eventually incorporating all expenditures and revenues, including at the state and territory government level." End of Commission report and end of Commission recommendation on this topic. How this becomes a "permanent parent visas abolished" headline is questionable. (The whole commission report can be accessed here: http://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/migrant-intake/report/migrant-intake-report-overview.pdf )

The Commission reported back in April this year. All of a sudden this becomes a "permanent parent visas to be abolished" headline? The commission reported on the following, on other words, it was specifically asked to look at this idea: the Commission has been asked to assess, a single pricewould be charged for all immigrants (outside the humanitarian stream), determined eitherthrough a tender, an auction or by government. It would replace the current plethora of 18 MIGRANT INTAKE INTO AUSTRALIAdifferent visa classes, fees and charges, as well as the current administrative selectionmechanisms, although current character, health and security checks would be retained.... And it reported as follows: "Given the balance of the costs and benefits, the case for retaining parent visas in theircurrent form is weak. In the short term, a partial remedy would be to lower the taxpayer funded subsidy forcontributory parent visas by considerably raising the visa charge, and to introduce morenarrowly focused non-contributory parent visas. This would involve narrowing eligibilityto non-contributory parent visas to cases where there are strong compassionate grounds.The impact of this tightening could be partly offset by the introduction of more flexibletemporary parent visa arrangements, subject to the parents or sponsoring children meetingthe costs of any income or health support during their period of residence.The resulting (large) fiscal savings could be better directed at more vulnerable members ofthe Australian community and at reducing the more general pressures of an ageingpopulation." The Commission then recommended that: "The Australian Government should amend arrangements for permanent parent visaapplicants. In the short term, it should: • increase substantially the charge for contributory parent visas • narrow eligibility to non-contributory parent visas to cases where there are strongcompassionate grounds to do so, accompanied by clear published criteria to limitapplications for such visas • consider lowering the caps for contributory parent visas • introduce a more flexible temporary parent visa that would provide longer rights ofresidence, but with requirements, as for other temporary visas, that the parents orsponsoring child would meet the costs of any income or health supports during theperiod of residence." And: "The Australian Government should request the Australian Government Actuary toupdate its actuarial analysis of the long-term fiscal consequences of immigrantsarriving under the parent visa stream, eventually incorporating all expenditures andrevenues, including at the state and territory government level." End of Commission report and end of Commission recommendation on this topic. How this becomes a "permanent parent visas abolished" headline is questionable. (The whole commission report can be accessed here: http://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/migrant-intake/report/migrant-intake-report-overview.pdf )

As far as I am aware the onshore and offshore applications are taking about the same time. There is no processing time advantage for lodging offshore. Also, can you point me to the thread about a plan to stop the parent visas?

I assume that you are on a permanent partner visa, not a provisional one? I am asking this just to make sure that she will actually qualify for a parent visa once she does turn 65? You could send your mum back to the UK earlier, so that she does qualify for another visitor visa (even if it is just the ordinary 12 month but 3 months at a time visa) around June next year? Alternatively, since she does not have a no further stay condition, you could try to apply for an extension of her visa onshore: https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/600-/Visitor-e600-visa-online-applications but the risk with that is that the policy is: "Parents who have already spent 12 of the last 18 months in Australia would generally be expected to leave Australia and wait 6 months before being granted (on application and if eligible) another Tourist stream visa and returning to Australia. This manages the risk of their seeking to establish de facto residence and is consistent with condition 8558, which applies to longer stay/travel period Tourist stream visas."

Generally once a visa application is receipted (received by the Department and money is taken for the visa application fee) the applicant is "safe" from any changes to the law that effects that visa subclass in the future. This is not set in stone, and indeed there has been a case of the Department drawing a line under visa applications that were in the system for over 5 years, and going nowhere fast, which meant that applicants were left back where they started. But I doubt that would happen for Contributory Parent Visa Applicants, as they really are a bit of a cash cow for the Department. As for your second question, as far as I am aware the only advantage for applying for the same visa, but from onshore, is for the visa applicant to be able to remain in Australia on a bridging visa during the processing period. Why do you think that onshore applications are processed faster?

Effective immediately (13 September 2016 at 4pm AEST) applications for ACT nomination will not be accepted from overseas residents. If your client is living overseas you will not be able to commence an application for ACT nomination of a Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa until the program reopens in 2017. If you have an application for ACT nomination currently ‘in progress’, the application must be submitted, and payment made, before midnight tonight, 13 September 2016 (Australia Eastern Standard Time). You must submit a complete application e.g. all supporting documents attached, as additional documentation will not be accepted after lodgement.

Nick you are now a permanent resident, so no you do not have to inform the Department. You just have to abide by any conditions that are attached to your visa. Speaking of which, you should keep in mind the following: When you applied for your 186 (anyone reading this please DON'T confuse this with a 187 visa as the rules for the 187 are different) you declared that you agreed to work in the nominated position for at least two years. And that you understand that if you as the applicant, or any family members included in the application, provide (or have provided in a previous application) false or misleading information, or bogus documents either knowingly or otherwise, the visa application will be refused and you may be subject to three year bar in relation to visas to which the fraud criterion applies. In such circumstances any visa granted may be cancelled. So this means that when your visa application was lodged, you must have had the intention to work for your sponsoring employer in your nominated role for at least 2 years from the date that the visa is approved. As long as there is no question about this, then that's fine. In other words, people who are 186 visa holders sometimes worry about whether their permanent residency visa will be cancelled if they leave their employer before the 2 years of employment are up. (Usually they worry because they read information on forums that relates to the 187 visa.) But generally you have nothing to worry about unless you provided the Department with ‘false or misleading information, or bogus documents either knowingly or otherwise’. And I have not heard of the Department cancelling permanent residency visa unless they are provided with some clear evidence of fraud or misleading behaviour in relation to a visa application (for example, an email in which you state that you plan to quit your job as soon as you obtain your permanent residency). Sorry for the lengthy explanation, but I thought I would mention this in case anyone else has questions about this.