Southlander

Agree on your points. The processing of grants seems to be reactive. Another reason is that most countries won't have an issue with nurses taking visas so would not cause any uproar with voters. WA ironically jumped onto this opportunity and kept borders shut to facilitate this. In a nutshell yes you will get your visa. In normal times the grant would have been reflective of processing times unless their were issues with your application. There are signs that grants for older applications are moving again based on contact received from the co's and non essential visa grants.

The problem with parent and partner visas is that they are entitled to apply and have no idea how many will and cannot limit them from doing so. The skilled visa applicants they can dictate the numbers by limiting who applies, under what criteria and setting occupation ceilings. But they are two very different processes. Either way the bubbles seem to grow all the time and can they can let the backlog stretch as far as they wish to.

For argument sake, queensland have their own critical skills list, and include teaching all levels. It mimics the governments list pretty accurately however they (dha) have not updated theirs since July last year and as such do not prioritise teachers. Also the pmsol/critical skills list was only really introduced (I believe) September 2020, albeit the borders were closed from March. So between that period there were invitations for offshore but grants had stalled. Most people who applied pre covid were obviously not aware of how things would unfold. One being nurses, even though Australia never had a covid crisis. The reason was probably that nurses were in short supply and this gave a reason to slow all otter occupants down to fill hospitals, with "covid" being the reason. Once the state nominates you, you apply for your main visa, you will get your visa (agents advice, not poi forum posters) but that's down to the dha when they process you. Nothing to read into it further. The grants have been happening albeit not at any rate pre covid times.

No problem. The way it works is that each state is allocated a specific quota from the federal government to give out sponsorship to whoever they want to. Every state has different needs, so if they decide to sponsor you they will, should you fit their criteria. It is competitive still as there may be more than one applicant trying for nomination in your occupation, but they may be reserving the quota for other fields. The occupation ceilings are also a little but of a red herring, and applies to government quota should you have applied independently, points based 189 etc. Also 189s are done solely by the federal government to invite and process you. State nomination is a set quota for the states to nominate you against their requirements but look more into the applicant as a whole and not so much points focused. Qld need you have so many years experience and a good pot of funds in the bank. Also not to dismiss the blog but the occupation list demand change all the time, you can almost tell by the types of grants you are seeing and who they are inviting. Also when the States are given their quota they may say 190s will get 11000 for the year, but once the nomination is provided the dha may not process you and give more allocation to the States hoping for other occupations to apply. So in essence they may end up giving out 20,000 for the year but will stick vigorously to only giving out 11000 visas. So the pot of unprocessed applicants expands whilst they allow new applicants to keep applying without increasing the amount of grants that they will give out in a calendar year. And so it continues. Lastly I f the sates have you on their own critical/essential list the federal government (who are responsible for giving out the visa) will not necessarily re ognise the States requirements and will issue visas to satisfy their own needs. So the state may sponsor you but the federal government will not give your visa. It's chicken and egg. The prices you have quoted is spot on for each applicant.

If the States open their Migration program to offshore candidates (all sectors), that would suggest that they are advertising for new applicants? This actually has been the case though, states inviting new applicants (quota received from the government) but dha not clearing the backlog fast enough. Non priority skills does not mean no progress whatsoever, it means low priority. There has been non priority visas processed that were over 2 years old recently. You may need to venture further than PIO to find this all out should you wish to.

We applied for teaching too. 27 months waiting here, offshore. If your nomination is granted, I believe you have 60 days to submit your official visa application to the dha. So the clock starts at the point you supply your documents and pay the visa application in full. You never know it may not take that long as they are desperate for teachers and most states hsvr their own critical/essential skills lists and education is on it.

That would be classed as an original BC. All original copies say that when ordering a second copy, which people normally purchase for just like your example where an original is requested.

@KangaKit I agree what you say, the Queensland premier was unambiguous in her speech that siblings can now come from overseas, as tourists, and visit parents, children, brothers and sisters. So yes I too found it confusing as the federal government control external borders and don't include siblings yet. Now the focus is on the feds for being shut and not Queensland per se. NSW tried something similar saying border are open but that was for everyone. Here AP specifically included siblings to the existing cohort. It might be with applying for a travel exemption for Queensland What makes me smile is that step parents are good to go but not siblings. Also for sake of family sponsorship family are considered to be parents, siblings and then also cousins, aunts and uncles. Let's hope they talk to each other and clear this up.

They are probably going to use them to replace the unvaxed/covid affected teachers. Fortunately education is not considered critical/essential services. Well certainly not for visa granting.

We have slightly gone off topic here, Paul had kindly answered the questions posed and said one might require a crystal ball to correctly guess. That's just the way the world is working now unfortunately. I think what @31Hillbury was asking is for a RMA to fact check the comment suggesting that our 190 visas could never be granted (withheld indefinitely) and more recently pulled out entirely. @Ausvisitor Your point #1. NSW are already open to occupations we originally applied under. @Marisawright Our occupations are being selected pre covid and now during covid, so the states are still open to offshores both periods. You may draw your own conclusions to that.

So people that apply to one state for pr and move to another as soon as their visas are granted you're OK with provided their circumstances changed? Most also applied pre covid which is unlucky. But, grants should have carried on as they did not know what the future would bring if circumstances changed. Not alot has changed and can be quite subjective.

No they won't, we'll get our grants. It has been unprecedented how long most have waited and rightly will be sorting us out soon.

It is that you can't go hiding under your doona anymore and face up to the reality that it is here, has been and is here to stay. Having being slow out the gates have caught up and vaccinated an astonishing amount. Omicron is supposedly a much milder strain though highly infectious. I think even the most avid covid follower would see little sense in another lockdown unless they actually like the thought of them...

Cheers Paul, RMA noted! I did look it up but most sites referenced MARA. I now know the difference I read the article, I see that is an issue but this may stem from who they are granting visas to and from what cohort. It's unfortunate that most will try and work in the positions, more so 190s but that is down the employers who they hire. Also letting a state sponsor you and then say we're scared to grant you a visa because we worry what you do or where you go is fairly nonsensical. It's the states issue not the feds. I also think IELTS should be the standard English test, then you would see less taxis/uber drivers with degrees not being used to their intended capacity. But there would be less students...

Thanks again Paul, appreciate the honesty. It was also good to see an article on abc.net highlighti the injustice of 190s being who have been state sponsored but yet to be granted whilst industries are crying out for them. Please do comment further if you can give us further insight or have any other predictions.

Thanks Paul. Covid is yesterday news, borders supposedly are open now that the majority have been vaccinated? The UK or Canada seem to have continued to process visas... I am aware of priority processing (they stopped processing visas before this), surely it's past its sell by date, unless they are using it as a tool. So the real question is when will they process our 190s? Or are you suggesting that only once every person under the priority visa class you've quoted have been then they will move onto us? How will they look at us, when will they look at us and what order of the 190s lodged will they grant them. Best regards

HNY to you all. Now that 2021 has passed will it be another painful year for us 190 offshores (grants) or can we expect some movenent now? Most offshores are waiting 20-26 months which is well over over the "processing times" quoted by the dha, so makes no sense anymore why we are still being held. Covid is yesterday news and nurses imho were a smokescreen (where some grants went) as were not really needed for covid in Australia per se. Please can you give your insight into our real prospects of receiving our grants imminently, or can we expect 3 years to be knocking on our doors before they look at us again? Will they then do it by date order as there also seems to be a lot of outstanding grants? We are extremely frustrated and the lack of transparency and support had not helped considering all other class of visas have had daily coverage. Any thoughts or feedback will be appreciated. Best

Have sent link to join

Just to point out some states require you to already be registered to teach in that state before you submit your eoi, so could end up with multiple registrations in case that state starts to invite. IELTS (Academic) can also be a prerequisite for state nomination for teaching as it really does separate english speakers from the rest. If IELTS was the only acceptable test there would be next to no students progressing to PR.

I think most are aware that covid has been the default reason for most things. In "normal" times, you could expect to wait up to a year for your grant. So coupled with the vast amount of unprocessed visas not a lot will change, unless all those already waiting are actually already processed but not yet granted (leg work already done). If they still have to go through the whole process 2 years will be the new default unless they clear down the huge backlog before inviting new.

@paulhand I agree with you 100%. Forums are for us novices trying to get a feel for it and getting opinions based on similar experiences, approaching agents is for expert (legal) advice for someone who is committed to going to Australia and is investing from day one. I have had too many friends jumping on the bandwagon saying they're keen to go until I recommend them seeing a paid agent. Then it's next week, or in the new year etc. I know at that point they are not fully decided, but like the idea however will toy with it until it's too late. Proof is in the pudding, let's monitor.

Not sure where the mistake is? You need to earn $53,900 P/A for three consecutive years to transition to a permanent visa. You only have to be under 45 at the age of applying for the visa and CAN get PR even at 49 (5 year visa). But you have no time for mistakes as you are on the wrong side of 44. Your 153k sounds like global talent/high profile individual type visa classes.

Feel for you... I really think you have a better chance studying in one of the states I mentioned above. Extremely expensive and still very risky. I'm fairly certain (don't quote me on it) but to apply for nomination you have to be under 45, it's only when you receive nomination and apply to the dha that your age is locked in. In other words have to still be 44 at this point. Points will stay same 40 to 44 then regardless. State nomination again is a lottery, some states won't even invite you and will expire after each year or will reject your eoi probably that you never really interested them and had better candidates chosen. And once they review it takes up to 4 weeks for nomination approval. Once nomination is given you then apply for your main visa and need to be 44 years old. Some states are quicker than others and have different quotas of teachers they have asked to sponsor. AITSL skills assessment takes 12 weeks, never quicker. So need to factor that in too...

Unfortunately yes. Only once she has completed her further studies, and has the certificate in hand, is when it will be considered "day 1" of being a qualified teacher in the eyes of immigration. Immigration is simply ruthless.

You would have more chance going for the 491 visa. As long as you are granted it before you're 45, you can transition to a permanent visa, on condition you fulfil the requirements (53k P/A salary, living in regional 3 years) Either you or you partner can do this. And can be in any job or field. But you have to live in regional area. 491 gives 10 points and 190, 5 points. You are a bit light with points and experience imho, so getting 20 points in IELTS will help. Teacher's need to do IELTS academic, (not PTE) which is the superior test. Lastly you mention accruing work experience whilst studying, that can't happen. They will only credit your work experience the date you are finished your PGCe/Masters. Ie, you physically have your certificate from the university and transcripts. Not even the date you are advised you passed. Has to be signed, sealed and delivered. The that's day one of experience accruing, everything to date is counted as zero unfortunately. You should try do a 1 years pgc/masters level to save time. Maybe look into studying in Tasmania or Perth as I believe recent graduates are given a different path to stay on. Don't quote me but with looking into. 65 is the minimum, but if they sponsor a small amonu of teachers in a year for the state, you need to be sure that your application will beat off the other applicants. Compare experience, points, age, single/married. If you have family in Australia, living in regional area they could sponsor you the 491 instead of the state, if that is an option... Please feel free to ask more questions, we all trying to get there and hopeful you find a way forwards *491 Family sponsorship has to be on the main list, Primary School Teachers currently is on the short list so can't be sponsored by a family member unless it changes to long term skills.