Raul Senise

Yes it is, but often people are not advised this up front. I have had conversations where people have contacted me as they have become dissatisfied when they have not bee invited to apply for a visa. Many are shocked when I assess them and advise them their chance of being invited are almost none. It is a common sales technique, to tell people that they qualify for a points tested visa and start by charging money to apply for a skills assessment and lodgment of an Expression of Interest. There are many websites that make it seem like if you have an occupation on the List you can get a 190/491 visa.

The first thing that you should consider is that a 491 visa is not guaranteed. It is a lengthy process that involves first doing a skills assessment, English, etc. Then Lodging an Expression Of Interest. You then need to be invited by the State to lodge a sponsorship application. There is no guarantee that you will be invited, as this is based on the individual State's ever changing requirements, their labour needs and how many other people have lodged an expression of interest before you. Just because you meet the State requirements, does not mean you will be invited to apply. IF invited, you apply for State Sponsorship. IF the States sponsorship is approved, you will be invited to apply for the 491 visa. Only then can you apply for the 491 visa. Also, you do not get PR after three years. After three years of living in a Regional area on a 491 visa, you can apply for Permanent Residency, if you meet the requirements. I mention the above details I have seen too many people sold this potential pathway, without being told the full story and being disappointed when they do not get past the Expression of Interest stage.

Some States will not nominate you if you choose more than one State or even subclass in your EOI. This is not possible as Lawyers cannot be registered with MARA.

The original question is irrelevant as you stated that the visa came through in time. I posted as the advice in your post to go to New Zealand, wait at the airport and return on the next flight is not ideal.

Not recommended as you would risk having your visa cancelled on your return to Australia for not being a genuine visitor.

Considering that the planned partner visa numbers for the current program year have dropped from 72,300 to 40,500, I think we are going to see ongoing processing delays. The published processing times are already showing 6 to 36 months.

You will find that this is partly due to new code of conduct rules which the OMARA has placed on Registered Migration Agents. It makes it very difficult to answer ongoing questions unless a formal client agreement has been agreed upon.

The numbers allocated to the States for subclass 190 visa are quite low, so the chances of an invite are low to begin with. Queensland only has 3000 subclass 190 spots for this program year.

State occupation lists and requirements change regularly based on the individual Labour needs of each State.

You can check details of who you are dealing with on the MARA Registry of Agents. According to the MARA Registry there is one RMA at the above business.

Offshore grants are slower compared to onshore applications across all programs at the moment.

Depends on the circumstances. We are still seeing 494 applications processed as per standard, although published processing times have increased.

You do not need to show any personal financial information for a subclass 482 visa.

Unfortunately the processing times for offshore application has become extremely unpredictable. Between COVID, WFO, change of Government, constant changes to processing priorities and standards and massive backlogs, it is anyone's guess. You can try to lodge a formal complaint, but even the complaints section is backlogged and you may not get a response for months.

You just need to be in Australia before the travel facility expires. If the travel facility expires while you are in Australia, you are still a Permeant Resident. The issue then becomes obtaining a new travel facility (RRV) if you wish to travel.