ajs604

9 hours ago, Bulya said:

Godawful place, run like a police state

Could not agree more, I used to live in the Western Suburbs and also got that feeling of depression when visiting Melton, Sunshine or Werribee.

1. Better climate (milder winters)

2. Get away from certain family members.

3. Fed up of UK class based system (less noticeable here).

4. Better life balance.

5.  A sense of adventure

6. More open spaces.

I have been here almost 10 years and have never been back. My mother has been out once 2 years ago. I have no plans to ever go back. I would rather spend my free time exploring Aus or other countries. Last year I went to South Korea and this year I plan to visit Japan for the second time.

Have you got a permanent visa? If so, try and stay the four years so you can get your citizenship. It takes a least a couple of years to adjust to a new country and build new friendships. Try taking a holiday back to the UK, hopefully it will make your decision clearer. I know I found my first year here really tough but 9 years on I have no regrets and could not imagine myself living in the UK again.

Hi, I have used Marks and Sparks before and paid with an Aussie credit card. They also delievered the gifts wrapped. Not sure if they still do it but worth a try.

I came in on the old 176 visa and was sponsored by Victoria. It also took me a few months to get a job. Every 6 months for 2 years the department of immigration sent me a survey to check on my progress and to see if I was still working in by designated occupation. I am still in Victoria 9 years later so never flouted my moral obligation.  It annoys me when people simply say it is only a moral obligation and not a legal one. This type of attitude could potentially ruin it for future genuine applicants. I can also understand that sometimes people cant get jobs for whatever reasons so need to move states to improve their employment prospects. I think in these instances people need to be upfront and talk to immigration. It will only look more favorable for yourself and it may even improve the visa process for future applicants. I think its good to remember that it is not your right to be here, you were granted a visa because Australia needs your skills in a particular area. You need to earn that right to be here. In my opinion you need to be prepared that it wont be plain sailing for the first few years when you get here. It takes time to get established again . 

Hi, I agree a WHV would be the best option.  I have worked in allied health previously (pod), since migrating but am now retraining in a different filed. You need to get your radiography/sonography qualifications assessed by ASAR https://www.asmirt.org/careers-and-employment/overseas-assessments before you can practice in Oz. Not sure how long the process takes. Once here though, you will find plenty or short term locum work. You only have to look at Seek.

Not sure which state your in. I am in Victoria and I would get surveys sent to me every 6 months for the 2 years (finished moral obligation last August) asking for details of my work and housing ect. After the two year period these surveys stopped so there is no need to inform them that you have compleated the moral obiligation as they will know! No, they are not interested in what other states or cities you have visited as you have resided in your sponsoring state. Although saying that as other foroum users have stated the authorties have no power if you choose to change states. It is merely only a moral obligation which in my opinion serves no purpose as not furfilling it leads to no consequences. My understanding is that when you apply for your citizenhip you will need to have resided in Aus for four years and not been out of the country for more than 90 days in the last 12 months before you apply for citizenship

Hi ajs604 ,

 

I'm totally agree with you on people should really be committed to what they agreed on. I don't want to justify my actions or anything like that here.

 

Firstly by saying "Not have been in the state's airport" does not mean that I did not try to get a job in that state. secondly , as I mentioned in my previous post, people's situation changes over time. At the time I got the sponsorship (4 years ago) I had every intention to move into that state. However right now I can not really quiet the job I worked hard for , in order to get into the position i'm in now and move somewhere that they don't even have my occupation on their demand list anymore and start look for the job that does not exist (most likely) .

 

Anyways the moral aspects have been discussed many times on different threads and I will not even give my personal opinion about this in this thread anymore so we hopefully can stick to main point of this thread Which is "putting an end to all the rumours about not being able to become citizen if you don't complete the moral obligation of state sponsorship visas."

 

Regards,

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. My response was not a personal attack at yourself . I am not aware of your personal problems and this has no business to me. I appreciate that perople move outside states for various reaons such as work or relationships. I am also aware the main point of the thread is to quash rumours about gaining citizenship after not completing the moreal obiligation in the sponsoring state. However, I think the immigration minister needs to review these polices as it seems complety unfair to me that a minority of people are using the state sponsered visa as a quick fix solution to getting into Aus quickly without even intedning on living in that state. I feel that these people (not including yourself) who are found to have no intention of compleating their moral obligation should be hunted down and removed from the country unless of course there are extenuating circumstances.

Hello Folks,

 

Thank you so much for your comments so far . Here is some real information that I got from the Citizenship Department :

 

I gave them a call yesterday and explained the situation (I was totally honest about everything , even I told her that I did not even visit the sponsoring state yet), Then the lady on the phone told me that she can not tell if I'm eligible to become a citizen or not without checking my information on their system. Therefore I gave her my Passport number , Name , address and DOB . Then it took her around 3 to 4 minutes to get back to me with below response ( I am trying to be as precise as possible with the words that came out of the citizenship help line ) :

 

Sir , you will be eligible on ... (My intended lodgement date) based on the information that we have . There is no condition on your permanent residency visa and as a result as soon as you satisfy the residency requirements there will be no problem and then she started giving me some basic information like the price for the application and how long it will take etc...

 

Again I asked her a very specific question, my question started like this : Thank you for all the information , but let me ask this question so I make sure I understand everything , as I said I have not yet met my state sponsorship requirement which is living in that state for at least 2 years YET , because of my work situation and to be honest I'm not sure if I can meet the requirements at least for another 3 years or so. The reason is when I got the sponsorship 4 years ago I was young and did not have a family and work but when I got the visa based on the sponsorship 4 years later, everything was changed. THIS WILL NOT AFFECT MY CITIZENSHIP APPLICATION ???????

 

Her response : Sir, Department of citizenship has nothing to do with the state migration offices. No your permanent resident visa (Subclass 886) has no condition based on my records and you will be eligible to apply on ... date.

 

Last but not least , wait and monitor this thread for the next 3 to 4 months and hopefully I will become the first real example of a person who got the citizenship approved without even knowing how the sponsored state's airport is look like

I am in Australia under a state sponsored visa and have compleated my moral two year obligation. I do feel quite strongly about this and feel that people should be made to apply for another visa if they cannot meet the moral obligations of spending two years in there sponsoring state. I do hope the governments address this issue. I understand people move states for various reasons such as lack of work, which is an extenuating circumstance but you mention you have never evern been to the sponsoring states airport.