CommanderMaxil

That is interesting but not the legal position, as I understand it. I used a Migration Agent, and was very surprised, when having gone through all the hoops to get ACT sponsorship, that when my agent rang me to tell me my visa had come through she asked me where in Australia I planned to move to, "Canberra of course" says I, otherwise what was the point of all that effort to convince the ACT of my genuine intention to move there. Her reply surprised me a lot a the time "Oh its only a moral obligation, legally you can move anywhere" Ultimately I guess its a function of the federal system, where you have a central federal scheme for immigration, but the states have a role too Now I am working for a State/Territory government I start to see some of the contradictions and issues in the system. I sympathise with the ACT, as they don't want people to lie about the state they are intending to go to, but there doesn't appear to be any system by which they determine whether a person has made a "genuine effort". I certainly put a lot of effort in, but still I only stayed 3 and a half months, yet I don't feel I could have done much more than I did to try and settle there. Only JOJOGOINGOZ knows whether they feel they have made sufficient effort or not, which is what makes the ACT government response so odd I guess, as it doesn't reflect my experience of dealing with them

I'm curious as to why they think you haven't made a genuine attempt, have you been in Canberra very long? Have you been able to provide examples of jobs you applied for? The only interaction i had with the resettlement officers was meeting them upon my first arrival for the intial session, then replying to the 3 month survey to say that i was struggling to find work, before telling them i had left (after I had been in Darwin already for 2 months). I think meeting them in person was helpful for me as i arrived very enthusastic about my future in Canberra and that probably suggested to them i was serious about staying (which i was), but i am curious as to why they have given you the attached response. In terms of your options you can definitely leave if you want but agree it must leave you feeling a bit unsettled.

Don't mind at all, I came over as a Policy Analyst, after many years in Whitehall advising UK govt departments. The ACT was the only state that had my job on its list when I applied (back in Jan 2012). However the government cuts and the restrictions on non-Australians have bitten pretty hard and, as you can imagine, Canberra is full of people with similar skills to me.

didn't show anything. Just told them in my 6 month review that I had been forced to move to find work (after 4 months in the ACT). I think they know the score given that my occupation is no longer on the state list. I did have all the emails proving I had been applying for jobs had they asked.

I responded to the 6 month questionaire last week and told the ACT government i had moved to Darwin for work and received an email today from my resettlement officer which included the following text:

Please be advised that you have been granted a Skilled Nominated (Permanent)(class SN) Skilled – Nominated (subclass 190) visa. This visa was granted with NIL visa conditions, as per your visa grant letter.

Your 2 year obligation to live and work in Canberra is purely a moral obligation to the ACT Government and not a requirement of your visa. Moving to NT will have no affect on your visa, your residence status or any future application to become an Australian citizen.

Whilst we don’t like anyone to leave Canberra, we do understand that if you are unable to find suitable employment in the ACT then you have to make the decision whether to seek work in another part of Australia. Your record has now been closed which means that you will not receive any further requests to complete the remaining 6 monthly settlement surveys.

So that I think is, as they say, that!

Of all the threads i've read on this website this is the one that has touched me the most I think. I am in the opposite situation, being the son who is about to leave (next wed) to go to Hong Kong for a week and then on to Canberra in mid-march. Am now back at my parents for my last few days and they are taking me to the airport next wed for my flight, which I know my mum will find incredibly difficult, but I feel is an important part of the process. Its strange but its only in the past few weeks I've realised just how upset my family members are, they have always been supportive of the stuff I have done but somehow I never saw the cost to them personally. I'm 37 now and have lived abroad a couple of times in my 20s but this seems to be tougher for them somehow. Perhaps its because I had to apply for a permanent visa despite having no intention of permanently relocating to Australia. Its strange because for the past 11 years I have lived in London and my mum in Scotland so we didn't see each other very often anyway but this feels different for everyone nonetheless. I've come to realise that for all the positive exciting parts of the move there are also downsides and the effects on family members are amongst the main ones. I tell myself that I will make it up to my parents and in 2 or 3 years I will come back and try to be closer to them (than Australia or London) and I do mean it but in reality its impossible to predict what will happen. Anyway it helps to know other people are going through the same stuff. Stay strong everyone!