twister292

If you go through the manual immigration counters they might...e-Gates is a different story though. Usually they'd just scan your passport, enter some info into their computer and that's all...

I got intimation of my test date via email.

Unfortunate as it is, the Cap and Cease provisions have always been there in the Migration Act. They're not used too often, so little knowledge exists about them. They work by allowing the minister incumbent to limit the grants of a particular visa class in a year. If the visa class is already superseded, any applicants beyond the cap outstanding become void ab initio, and that's the "cease" part. Last Cap and Cease was done when the 885/886/175/176 family of visas was introduced. Some of the older offshore 136 visas were capped/ceased back then (2010 if I recall correctly). Minister Evans back then wanted cap and cease provisions by occupation...that legislation never passed because the parliament was prorogued for election before it could be tabled. SkillSelect was essentially a sideways move to implement that. Now that the SkillSelect family of visas are firmly in place, and the 885/886 visas are fully allocated, they've ejected the 175/176 remainder of the queue. In all honesty, I sympathise with the applicants, but in a way it should relieve them as well. Considering the capped applicants are all offshore, there's no repatriation cost, and they can make other decisions now. At least they have closure from DIBP and don't need to hang in limbo...moreover, the economy has deteriorated substantially, and considering the occupations removed from the SOL are low in demand as it is, the applicants would have a serious struggle on the plate on that front too... As for re-imbursing IELTS fees, DIBP can only repay to applicants what they have collected...anything on top would be a whole lot of red tape and would have regulatory hurdles as well.

Correction; the applications are taken to have never been made, and the visa application charges will be refunded. It still leaves applicants out of pockets for other costs like medicals, skills assessments etc...

I believe EngAus, if assessing your work experience will simply use the ANZSCO code you claim it for to determine if it suits or not.

What utter and complete nonsense. Pakistanis form a small community in Australia but by and large they are positive contributors to the Australian society.

You could be waiting a bit for this one...a few months is the norm

Guarantor needs to sign your application and also backside of one of the 2 photos you provide. The "interview" for the passport is essentially the receiving officer running through the form section-by-section and confirming the details you entered, and cross-checking to ensure all attached documentation is valid and eligible. It's not an "interview" from an interrogation perspective.

I got my passport as well in less than 2 weeks... I had my ceremony 8-July, applied for passport on 9th, and got it yesterday (standard/non-priority processing). Just like citizenship, the passport application also needs a guarantor to sign your application; he/she has to be an existing citizen who knows you for at least a year, and is either registered on the electoral roll or has an Australian passport.

I had my ceremony on Tue, online console now shows "application completed" instead of "Applicant approved". My PR has also dropped off VEVO. Now I'm waiting for the passport to be ready...I applied on Wed, it takes about 2 weeks.

Mine today is a small reserve ceremony, because my council has a too long waiting time.

Anyone have a ceremony tomorrow in Melb CBD?

P-series have a more vivid blue colour also. Fees havent gone up 1 July, as they went up a few months ago...$244 for 36 pages, $366 for 67 pages, and $108 if you want priority service. My ceremony is 8 July, Melbourne CBD

The ceremony waiting times at councils can be very long...many have 6+ months of wait. At least in Melbourne, DIBP have arranged a number of "reserve" ceremonies in July in the Melbourne CBD to "help along" the councils...

I've received a letter from DIBP that my council has a huge logjam, and they have arranged for fast-track ceremonies in Melbourne CBD for 8 July... I applied 27-Feb, took the test 14-Mar...

You might be able to scan and upload? I scanned both back and front of the picture when i scanned mine for citizenship (it had the certification done on the back). Im not aware of how Vertassess works, but someone would know for sure...

Your assessment is independent of the state nomination. If you have a positive skills assessment, you can go to any state for nomination. However, approving that nomination is completely up to the state you are applying to. If you can get a positive assessment in another occupation, and it is listed in the state's list, you can potentially apply again. A rejected state nomination wont preclude or exclude you from a different occupation.

Date applied - 24/02/14 City/Council area - Monash (VIC) Online / Paper - Online Date received the acknowledgement email - 27/02/14 Date of the Citizenship Test - 14/03/14 Date of ceremony - Still Waiting Type of ceremony (Urgent/Normal) - Normal The next ceremony in my council is 28 may and I'm hoping they'll slot me into that one...

Declare it. Better safe than sorry.

Mine was similar. Applied 24-Feb, got an email on 27-Feb saying the test date was 14-Mar. Sat the test, online tracking system was updated the same day to reflect "applicant approved". On 18-Mar received a letter (dated the same day as the test) notifying approval. Now just have to wait for the council to organise the ceremony. My council is Monash, and their next date is late May, so fingers crossed.

OSHC prices are standardised, so Medibank and Allianz will charge you the same.

Actually with most banks (3 that I've had experienced with), pressing SAV or CR on a debit card does the same thing, except for SAV routing the money through the Australia-wide eFTPOS network and CR using the Visa/Mastercard network. And yes, you're correct on the Paywave/Paypass transactions. They are routed through Visa/Mastercard, and the corresponding merchant fees apply which the retailer may pass back on to you. My banks don't charge extra for the newer cards, but their default fees are a lot higher than $2 a month (to the tune of $6ish but I have exemption due to a preferential arrangement between my workplace and the bank).

I think we'll have to see what exactly they define as a "debit" card. If they mean EFTPOS-only cards (or the option of pressing "CHQ" or "SAV" on the terminal), then it's a complete money grab, because online transactions appear to the bank's system just as you would press "CR" on the EFTPOS machine at Woolies or Coles. If DIBP's payment gateway provider is smart enough to distinguish a Visa/MC debit from a proper Credit card (Woolies' EFTPOS machines do that, they disable the CR option on debit cards unless you do a "paypass"), there might be some respite. Otherwise, it's another 1-2% on top of the VACs which have already increased by ridiculous amounts... BPAY would be a good option, but that's only useful for onshore applicants... PS You can't beat Jetstar/Qantas for their CC payment surcharge...last time they wanted $7 on a $71 fare I booked from MEL to SYD...

Not necessarily. If a card uses the Visa or MasterCard system to process the transaction, the bank charges are very similar. The only system in Australia which evades that is the eFTPOS system, which unfortunately cannot be used for online payments generally. eFTPOS-based transactions have a per-transaction charge rather than a percent charge on the total value. The online system for DIAC doesn't distinguish, for example, a Visa credit card from a Visa Debit, or Visa Electron for instance. It treats a debit mastercard the same way as a "normal" master-card. However, Australian banks do have the ability to detect whether a card is a domestic debit card or an international one. I think the only fee-free options left would be payments through local eFTPOS (bank) cards at DIAC offices or bank cheque/money order payments.

They use standard "postage-paid" envelopes.