barker

Medicals generally last 12 months + a discretionary amount of time (up to 6 months further, if you meet certain criteria and that is up to the processing case officer). 

Generally if you aren't what we call "A grade" on your medical, you may be required to undertake further health examinations. Proteinuria can occur for a variety of reasons, some of which may be transient. What I would do is have my GP do another dipstick and see if the problem still exists. Being well hydrated can help with these problems. If your urine is dilute, this can potentially solve the problem, especially since the dipsticks are very crude and use a reagent based method of testing for protein. 

Were you referred to a nephrologist? (kidney specialist)

As always, if in doubt consult a migration agent for advice specific to your situation.  

Here is the advice the department gives medical officers:

15 hours ago, KimL said:

Hi bARKER

I am Kim. I have been worked for my employer in a regional area for three years already, start from Jan 2015 till now. I start with my 457 visa from 2015 and I have got my PR since July 2017. I have worked very hard for these three years and because of that, my body condition is getting worse and worse. also I had a car accident three years ago. I suffered a lot of symptoms and I went to see the GP as well, he suggests that I should quit my job to avoid further injury. I have talked to my boss and he agreed to let me go ( I know this is against the 187 condition which is employee should work at least two years for her employer after she got PR). 

My boss said as an employer, he cannot dismiss me due to my medical condition, if he do then he will be in trouble. The only thing I have to do is hand in a resign form and then I can leave. However, I am very scared of my PR might get cancelled by this condition. one the one hand, I really cant work and on the other hand I am scared my visa might get cancelled if I resign. I have a medical certificate from my GP. and car accident report from the hospital. Do you suggest I can write a resign form and leave this job behind? 

Hi Kim, 

I'm sorry about your situation. I'm not a migration agent or a lawyer, and would suggest you contact one for some advice. 

That being said many questions that apply in medically related employment problems:

Is your job a physical job? Was this a workplace injury? Was this accident in Australia? Was this covered by mandatory insurance that every vehicle has (compulsory third party)?  Is your employer able to accommodate you in any way? Would you be able to negotiate unpaid leave? Do you have income protection insurance through your super? 

These questions will play a large part in your decision making process and certainly resigning is something that should be discussed with an RMA, even if just a 30 minute or 1 hour consultation. 

There is no obligation for the employer to notify DIBP.

According to DIBP the vast majority of cancellation proceedings for 187 visas are as a result of employer notifications. They do not actively seek out to investigate whether someone is still with their employer, however there is nothing to prevent this. Long story short, from their own info and guidance, if your employer doesn’t say anything, nothing seems likely to happen. 

Another, more crafty method of accomplishing this is formally negotiating and more importantly documenting leave without pay with your employer. This is specifically allowed by DIBP and counts towards your two years. Of course you can take another job during this time. 

On 24/02/2018 at 22:13, Siddu said:

Better save this info quick, before @Raul Senise complains.

21 hours ago, Jaiden said:

Hi guys 

I have applied RCB, NOMINATION AND 187 VISA APPLICATION lodged on 1 June 2017 

under the category of marketing specialist in Canberra 

RCB APPROVED 5/8/2017

Nomination approved 10/8/2017

but unfortunately I have received refusal of my visa on 8 feb 2018 

reason is that on this category they need 5 years experience or bechlor degree. I have claimed 3 years 8 months. I don’t have bechlors degree.we going to apply AAT soon.

Please any one have any idea or have experience that after approval of nomination it was refused any what would be the possibility in AAT.

awaited for your early reply guys thanks 

The ANZSCO description for Marketing specialist 225113 and the unit code is very cut and dried unfortunately. I'm not sure what grounds you could appeal with. 

"Most occupations in this unit group have a level of skill commensurate with a bachelor degree or higher qualification. At least five years of relevant experience may substitute for the formal qualification. In some instances relevant experience and/or on-the-job training may be required in addition to the formal qualification (ANZSCO Skill Level 1)."

3 hours ago, Wentan123 said:

Hi guys, i just have a bit of question. who knows someone has done it before.

i’m currently PR (187) and will finish my contract end of may. So i still have 1 month annual leave from my company. Would it be okay if i quit 1 month before my contract finish? As i still have 1 month annual leave, so they still have to pay me for a month wages.

 

thank you

Here is the quote from the DIBP in regards to this, however it refers to leave without pay. Since leave without pay counts, I'd be willing to bet that leave with pay counts as well, but you could always check with a migration agent. The other thing is, the only way the DIBP finds out you stopped working there is generally if the employer themselves notifies them. 

"

If the employer provides information that the visa holder has permanently ceased to work for the employer, the delegate may issue a notice of proposed cancellation. For more information, refer to Proposing cancellation.

Circumstances may arise where a visa holder is on leave without pay (LWOP) during the required two year employment period. Where an employer has approved LWOP, it is not generally regarded as a break in the continuity of service. Approved LWOP is also a standard condition in most awards. Therefore, any LWOP that has been approved by the employer is not to be regarded as a termination of employment.

Previous periods of employment for the same employer whilst the holder of another class or subclass of visa (such as a UC-457 visa) does not count towards the required period of employment. However, they may be relevant in assessing genuine effort."

4 hours ago, Mesh said:

My colleque who is also a medical practitioner... applied for 187 visa and she got the nomination apprived after 13 months and visa at 15 months...they take so long ??

Is she from a high risk or low risk country? Is it a GP position or a government job? All important factors. Don’t lose hope!

Like I said it’s anecdotal and literally just my personal experience of n=7ish people over the last year. These were all nominees from a state government, and highly skilled. 

Given the low risk and high demand for these folks, it stands to reason to process these applications quickly, because lots of times if you can’t promise PR (and fast!) they will just go to another country for work.

If you look at the overall visa applications for the medical practitioner category they are almost negligible in comparison to the other applications. 

Keep in mind that's just anecdotal and could vary, although I can't remember the last time anyone I know that has applied over the years and has taken longer than maybe 8 months? But this was because they didn't have their documents and really didn't make much of an effort to turn them in etc so they were asked for one thing after another. 

On 1/25/2018 at 14:07, Mesh said:

Thanks Waris for the reassurance.It certainly helps.Thanks ??

We have had several medical practitioners at my place of work approved for both 186 and 187 visas, all within about 4-5 months. Several (8 ish) also under 189 which is also about 4 months. 

Like Fida said it’s more or less a waste of money. I guess if you have good ovhc it might cover private hospitals that would be the only reason I could see keeping it

Double Post

So much misinformation out there, don't get caught up in it. 

This is a quote from DIBP LegendCOM : 

"Temporary visa holders who apply for a permanent visa may, in some circumstances, be eligible for Medicare benefits until a final decision is made on their permanent visa application. Temporary visa holders who hold a valid Medicare card under these circumstances may be considered to meet the minimum requirements for adequate health insurance for the period of time they hold the valid Medicare card."

It certainly does seem that the government is taking the stance of waiting people out and hoping they go away especially for professions they have no interest in, I hope you guys get an answer soon. 

We just had another 187 DE (medical professional) granted today at work and it took a little under 5 months from start to finish. (4 months 15 days) so they are definitely processing visas but not all of them.  

Good news is that your RCB can be rectified, you havent spent lots of money yet and you still have a chance!  Have them redo the RCB with an RMA who knows what they are doing, meet the requirments and then do you nomination and visa. You still have time before March as well. 

12 hours ago, Cippalippa said:

Does anyone know if, when you seek representation at the AAT, it must be a registered migration agent or if it can be any practising lawyer? My employer is insisting in having one of his lawyer friends to represent us. He want to go with someone he trusts and I understand that. Yes, they might be from a big and well known firm, but I am not sure if they ever dealt with migration cases... what frustrates me the most is that this is my life and they take decisions without keeping me in the loop or communicating with me all the details.

I understand it’s frustrating. Having a look back at your posts I’m guessing you’re referring to the nomination. The employer is the one who makes all the decisions regarding the nomination and AAT lodgement etc. And yes it can be any lawyer, obviously if one practices immigration law more often this would be a benefit.

You’re very lucky that your employer has agreed to go to the AAT for the nomination as not every employer would. 

That being said ultimately it is the employer’s decision in regards to the nomination application and they don’t have to involve you in it if they don’t want.

However if you ever go to AAT for your visa application (hopefully not) that’s all your decision at that point.

Regards

So from what we are seeing, 5 months seems to be the average time for some skill level 1 occupations at present just based on people's posts on this forum. I'm just *guessing* based on ENS/RSMS as it appears they are following similar grant patterns.

It really is hard to predict which occupations are approved fastest, but it certainly seems that professional, and highly technical skills are being prioritised.

It appears that the large influx of other applications is causing the average processing time to increase out to 15-18 months. 

4 minutes ago, Rajat Babbar said:

6 minutes ago, barker said:

Auto reply email as of today:
We are currently allocating ENS/RSMS cases lodged between April 2016 and August 2017.

These dates are for nominations or visa filing?

They are handled by the same team, and often nominations and grants are decided together — as was the case above.

Auto reply email as of today:

We are currently allocating ENS/RSMS cases lodged between April 2016 and August 2017.

7 hours ago, ManiJay said:

Medical examination is valid for 6 months or 1 year ?

Here is the policy statement guidance from the department about how long they will accept medical clearances. Technically it can be up to 18 months.

There is some discretion by the decision maker that can be exercised.

When can the validity of a health clearance be extended

If the validity period of a health clearance can be extended, this can be done only for 6 months and only if:

• there were delays in processing the visa application for which the medical examinations were completed and these were not caused by the visa applicant, or
• there are compelling or compassionate reasons.

Such extensions should not be given automatically.

Note:

• The validity of a health clearance completed for a previous visa application which has already expired should not, unless compelling and compassionate circumstances exist, be extended to facilitate re-use of a previous health clearance.
• If an applicant has lodged a new visa application has HAP has already successfully ‘re-used’ a health clearance (completed for a previous visa), and this health clearance expires shortly after ‘re-use’ for the new pending application, officers should keep in mind that the delays in processing provision would not generally be in respect of the newly-lodged visa applications. These cases may fall under the ‘compelling or compassionate’ provision.
• Extensions beyond those above are not available in any circumstances and processing officers should manage this. If it appears that a health clearance is about to expire before visa grant, processing officers should organise for health examinations to be undertaken again.
• Where the applicant’s health clearance has expired, and no further extensions are available, applicants are required to complete medical examinations. 

1 hour ago, Shaktimaan said:

Hi barker could you please advice on that if you have any info.?

 I'm not a MA, but this is the information the DIBP has put out as of November 2017, in which they state they have not stopped processing at any time. 

RSMS and ENS processing

RSMS and ENS processing times are currently being affected by a number of factors – including:

• the high on-hand RSMS/ENS caseload, which is further exacerbated by a particularly high number of lodgements in recent months (note: more than 16,000 applications were lodged in June 2017 alone, which is equivalent to approximately four months of average application lodgements)
• there are increased levels of non-genuine applications or applications with integrity concerns which require a higher level of scrutiny and
• incomplete visa application lodgements.

At no point in time has processing stopped on these cases and the Department is continuing to work through the on-hand caseload as fast as possible.

Note: Applications lodged more recently may be allocated for assessment ahead of older applications to facilitate more efficient processing of the pipeline and reduce processing times.

10 hours ago, kanz said:

 

hey barker,

not able to find one about nomination approval where it's written specifically on dibp website ?

Hi Kanz, You won't find it on the DIBP website. This is an excerpt from legendcom, which is a subscription based service from DIBP. 

5 hours ago, Talwaar Khan said:

I have applied on may 17, means im safe as well and all applications applied before March 2018 will be accesed under old instrument? Please clarify ur understanding Barker.

Thanks

I’ve posted the information that DIBP has provided and beyond that I don’t really have any more I’m sorry! They haven’t exactly been super forthcoming with details. Let’s hope they release more information soon.

19 hours ago, Forum name said:

Barker, I wanted to message you privately. I have just joined the forum... it says I can send 0 messages per day (no clue as to if/when I can PM). Are you able to please advertise your professional details on here and/or message me... (I potentially want to consult you professionally)?

Regards

FN

Sorry I’m not a migration agent and I don’t give advice. There are however many good migration agents on this board if you have a look around. I simply post the information that I receive or research myself.

2 hours ago, Muntasir said:

Thanks baker for the important update. Just to clarify one thing, as per my understanding from reading the update that you shared, for RSMS the current occupation list will be followed instead of stsol and MLTSSL. Am I right? 

So right now the current occupation list for the 187 DE is found in this legislative instrument. 

https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2017L00847