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Guys and girls, Please let me know the approximate processing time for ACS applications lodged during the last week of February. Anybody got a positive outcome? What's your status? is it "processing" "with assessor" etc. It seems ACS flooded with applications and I'm afraid whether we'll be able to lodge a 175 before DIAC suspend for the point test change. Tx

Hi, we placed our application in June 09 (subclass 175) and have recently completed our medical and Police clearance. My question is, after watching all the changes in the visa processing order over the past year or so, just how long should we be anticipating to wait for the visa? I ask this because at the medical, the staff were asking us when we were leaving! They also stated that there was very little time scale between sending these checks and recieving the visa. Any advice is greatly appreciated.:eek:

"Gudday mates" you can get updates by email about the processing times for GSM visas, by sending a blank email to this address: gsm.processing@immi.gov.au however, me and many others are facing a problem: http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/migration-issues/111222-auto-response-email-problem.html when I send to gsm.processing@immi.gov.au from hotmail or gmail I receive no replies, and for sure it is not going to my junk folder. I tried it from my work email address and I received a reply every time all the mails I sent were blank, no subject, no body. my guess is the spam software for that automated email address is filtering most of the hotmail-originated, gmail-originated, yahoo.... as spam, hence no reply. if you have a corporate email address try using that. anyway, here I will post the latest updates I am receiving: (they also sent an attached file, see it at the end) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 4:12 PM Important Information for Priority 3 clients.pdf Important Information for Priority 3 clients.pdf

Hi Can anyone tell me roughly how long TRA are taking to process skilled assesments please. Thanks

Does anyone have any recent experience (or knowledge) of the processing time for a subclass 101 (child visa)? Also does the visa have to be validated within 12 months of issue? We're not planning to move until 2012 but don't know how far in advance to apply for my son's visa (he wasn't born until after our PR was granted).

Dear All, We are just starting on our visa applications ( 176 SS with WA hopefully) and are just working on the TRA Assessment application for my husband who is a skilled machinist (We have decided that the Metal Machinist - 1st Class, most fits his experience although he has worked as a toolmaker too). He has a 4 year apprenticeship completed with a company who is no longer trading but the certificates clearly indicate the company name and have been issued by the EITB. Luckily the former leader of the apprenticeship school within that company noow works in hubby's current company so he is hopefully going to write a letter confirming he completed the apprenticeship and continued to work at the company for a further 2 years etc etc. We have a reference coming from his next employer. He is unable to approach the current employer for a reference as we have only just returned from a 3 month travelling (rekkie!) of Oz so they would understandable not be v happy if he then announced plans to leave - so he was going to write a statutory declaration on this job (Thankfully he has only worked in 3 companies!!!). We have copies of all he training certificates - apprenticeship, BTEC & HNC ( all completed while working with 1st company) and other on the job training certs as well. We were going to get these and stat dec certified by a solicitor hopefully next week. My questions are : is this enough evidence of his experience / proof of education? does the letter from the first chap who led the apprenticeship school need to be certified? Does anyone know how quick the TRA are processing at the moment? your thoughts are most gratefully recieved. We have been in contact with an Agent but we are keen to get as much together asap as possible to attempt to beat the 1st July changes.

Please can someone help I have not looked on here for ages as I am cat 4 or 5 can't remember What are the processing times at the moment, cos I have just had an email from my agent saying medical requests are coming in thick and fast now. is this for us in cat 4 / 5 or have I just bounced around the house for nothing. :wubclub:Plz help:wubclub:

MIA Notice: “The good news is that all Accountants with Competent English are now in priority group 3, as are all motor mechanics. For the team here it means that we have a lot of applications going back to July 2008 that we can now begin processing in priority group 3. We would like to extend the offer of decision ready processing, with signed checklists, for all those applications previously lodged that can now be processed. Wayne Riddle, the new Assistant Director of GSM, Brisbane, is prepared to accept applications for decision ready processing where documents may have previously been emailed in, so long as any future documents are scanned and uploaded to e-visa, i.e. new health and character or other outstanding requirements. The process will be the same i.e. once the application is decision ready, and it falls within priority group 2 or 3 above, send a signed Decision Ready Checklist to the Brisbane Agents mailbox and we will allocate the application within 48 hours of receipt of the checklist. I am attaching new decision ready checklists to this email for 487, 885 and 886 applications.” Note: Currently the application allocation period is about 2 weeks (instead of 48 hours as stated above) Please also note, DRC can only be done by registered migration agent. Paul (registered migration agent) MARN.0848959 Recently approved application:

Hi I have a couple of questions that I hope someone will be able to help me with. We are in the process of the 176 visa application, SS Canberra, we have just had requests for our police checks and medicals. Can't get an appointment for our medicals until May 10th so not sure if this is even ok as it blows the 28 days response out of the window! We may have been unrealistic in thinking that this process may take at least another 12 months before our visas were issued assuming everything is ok. Does anyone have an idea how long we are looking at before our visas may potentially be granted and if we cant afford to make the move straight away how long do we get? We decided against using a migration agent due to cost, wonder why we did that sometimes :eek: Thanks Kate

This is an automated e-mail response which provides updated information on processing of applications for General Skilled Migration (GSM). This information is updated fortnightly. Last updated 1 April 2011. Please do not send enquiries or reply to this email address as this mailbox is not monitored. Contact details for GSM are listed below. Current Processing Dates If your application date has recently come into our current processing date range you should allow at least 6 weeks to enable a case officer to complete the initial assessment. Please refrain from sending requests for an update on the status of your application within this 6 week period. Priority Processed Applications Under the priority processing direction we are giving priority in allocation to applications with a nominated occupation that appears in an active State Migration Plan - Priority Group 2. Priority Group 3 applications are allocated only where all Priority Group 2 have already been allocated. Priority Group 4 cases will be allocated once all Priority Group 3 are allocated. To determine which priority group your application falls into please read the information on the department’s website at: General Skilled Migration For further information regarding State Migration Plans please visit the department’s website at: What's New? Recent Changes in General Skilled Migration http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/pdf/statmig-fs.pdf http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/pdf/statmig-faq.pdf Applications lodged before the following dates are currently being considered by a case officer: Priority 2 State Migration Plan: *Priority 2 applications are currently being allocated within a week of DIAC receiving confirmation of a valid nomination from the relevant State/ Territory Government. As a result applicants are encouraged, where possible, to provide decision ready Priority 2 applications to facilitate more efficient processing and finalisation of these applications. Skilled – Sponsored (Migrant) subclass 176 VE 176 (e-lodged): 1 April 2011 VE 176 (paper): 1 April 2011 Skilled – Sponsored (Residence) subclass 886: VB 886 (e-lodged) 1 April 2011 VB 886 (paper): 1 April 2011 Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) subclass 475 VF 475 (e-lodged): 1 April 2011 VF 475 (paper): 1 April 2011 Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) subclass 487 VC 487 (e-lodged) 1 April 2011 Vc 487 (paper): 1 April 2011 Priority group 3 (See attached file: Important Information for Priority 3 clients.pdf) Skilled – Independent (Migrant) subclass 175 VE 175 (e-lodged): 16 July 2009 VE 175 (paper): 16 July 2009 Skilled – Sponsored (Migrant) subclass 176 VE 176 (e-lodged):16 July 2009 VE 176 (paper): 16 July 2009 Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) subclass 475 VF 475 (e-lodged): 16 July 2009 VF 475 (paper): 16 July 2009 Skilled – Independent Regional (Provisional) subclass 495 and Skilled – Designated Area Sponsored subclass 496 UX 495 and UZ 496 (e-lodged and paper): All applicants who have an occupation on the new Skilled Occupation List (SOL) – Schedule 3 have been allocated. Skilled – Independent (Residence) subclass 885 VB 885 (e-lodged) 25 October 2010 VB 885 (paper): 25 October 2010 Skilled – Sponsored (Residence) subclass 886: VB 886 (e-lodged) 25 October 2010 VB 886 (paper): 25 October 2010 Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) subclass 487 VC 487 (e-lodged) 25 October 2010 VC 487 (paper): 25 October 2010 Priority Exempt Applications Visa Subclasses 476, 485 and 887 are exempt from the current priority processing direction. Applications under these subclasses will be processed in the order in which they were received by the department. Applications lodged before the following dates are currently being considered by a case officer: Skilled – Recognised Graduate subclass 476 VF 476 (e-lodged): 2 December 2010 VF 476 (paper): 2 December 2010 Skilled – Graduate subclass 485 VC 485 (e-lodged) 22 December 2009 VC 485 (paper): 14 November 2009 Skilled – Regional subclass 887 VB 887 (e-lodged) 17 February 2011 VB 887 (paper): 17 February 2011 Subsequent Entrant Applications All subsequent entrant applications for subclasses 485, 487 and 475: 7 March 2011 Processing Times Estimated processing times for GSM visa applications can be found on our website at: http://www.immi.gov.au/about/charters/client-services-charter/visas/8.0.htm Estimates of processing times that apply to different types of applications are provided as a guide only. As processing times are dependent on a range of factors, individual processing times may vary considerably from the published estimates. Factors that can impact on processing times include, but are not limited to: - completeness of application - how quickly applicants respond to requests to provide documentation - medical complications - police checks - checks with third parties to verify claims made in an application. Contacting Us Providing additional documents Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit supporting documentation electronically. Providing scanned copies of documents reduces postal and administrative delays in receiving and processing information. GSM processing offices accept scanned copies of original documents (non-certified) provided they are in colour. If you scan documents in black and white, then they must be scanned copies of certified copies. The valid file types for attaching documents are BMP, DOC, DOT, GIF, JPG, PDF, RTF, TXT and XLS. Information which will assist you in attaching documents to your application or in emailing them to the department is available on the department’s website at: Attaching Documents to a General Skilled Migration Visa Application Online applications If you e-lodged this application you are strongly encouraged to attach all the supporting documentation to the application in the web-browser. This is the preferred procedure for providing supporting documents for an e-lodged application. If for any reason you cannot attach documents in the browser then you can email the documents as scanned attachments to the following email address: gsm.documents@immi.gov.au Paper lodged applications If you lodged a paper application you can still provide supporting documentation electronically by emailing the documents as scanned attachments to: gsm.documents@immi.gov.au When emailing documents to the department please quote your Transaction Reference Number (TRN) or file reference number for this purpose. Do not send this office any original documents or provide paper copies of documents previously attached to the browser or sent by e-mail unless asked to do so by a departmental officer. Medical Results If you have undertaken your medical examination with Medibank Health Solutions (formerly Health Services Australia), please do not post your medical results to us unless your case officer requests you to do so. Please store your results in a secure place and do not open the sealed envelope. ENQUIRIES Email Our preferred means of communication for GSM enquiries is email. Before you contact the department with general enquiries about the GSM program, you should first read the relevant website content and links provided in this email. If the website information does not answer your enquiry, please refer below: If you have not lodged a GSM visa application, and would like more information, use the GSM Pre-Lodgement Enquiry Form at: General Skilled Migration Pre-Lodgement Enquiry Form If you have lodged a GSM visa application, but it has not yet been allocated to a case officer, and you have further queries, use the GSM Post-Lodgement Enquiry Form at: General Skilled Migration Post-Lodgement Enquiry Form Allocated to a case officer: Once your application is allocated to a case officer, assessment of your application will begin. At this time, your case officer will provide you with a specific email address and you should correspond directly by email with them. Telephone: 1300 364 613 (in Australia) for the cost of a local call; or +61 1300 364 613 (outside Australia) Contact Hours (Australian Central Time): 0900 to 1600 Monday to Friday Please note: due to the large volume of calls we receive, from time to time you may experience lengthy delays before getting to speak to a customer service officer. LINKS General Skilled Migration – What's New What's New? Recent Changes in General Skilled Migration -------------------------------------------------------------------- Important Notice: If you have received this email by mistake, please advise the sender and delete the message and attachments immediately. This email, including attachments, may contain confidential, sensitive, legally privileged and/or copyright information. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. DIAC respects your privacy and has obligations under the Privacy Act 1988. The official departmental privacy policy can be viewed on the department's website at Department of Immigration & Citizenship. See: Privacy ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi I lodged my application under a 176 visa in December 2008 under ASCO 2299-79 which is now Information and Organization Professional NEC ANZSCO 224999. Since this whole delay for Priority 4 applications, I also got a new ACS Skill Assessment for 262113 Systems Administrator. Now I want to lodge a new application under this SOL 4 occupation with a state sponsorship from ACT/SA, but I want to know how I can transfer my visa processing fee from my previous application to this one. It is not fair that I have to pay again the Visa Processing Fee, when it is DIAC who has delayed the process and changed their regulations. At least I have spent money on a new skill assessment, on a state sponsorship, the least they could do is give me a break and transfer my visa processing fee or refund it to me. Any ideas who to approach and how to go about this for a favorable reply.

GENERAL SKILLED MIGRATION PROCESSING INFORMATION This is an automated e-mail response which provides updated information on processing of applications for General Skilled Migration (GSM). This information is updated fortnightly. Last updated 18 March 2011. Please do not send enquiries or reply to this email address as this mailbox is not monitored. Contact details for GSM are listed below. We value your feedback and suggestions Please take a moment to help us improve our communication with you by completing a short survey. Note that no personal information will be collected. If you would like to complete the survey please go to: Processing Times Automated Email Service Survey Current Processing Dates If your application date has recently come into our current processing date range you should allow at least 6 weeks to enable a case officer to complete the initial assessment. Please refrain from sending requests for an update on the status of your application within this 6 week period. Priority Processed Applications Under the priority processing direction we are giving priority in allocation to applications with a nominated occupation that appears in an active State Migration Plan - Priority Group 2. Priority Group 3 applications are allocated only where all Priority Group 2 have already been allocated. Priority Group 4 cases will be allocated once all Priority Group 3 are allocated. To determine which priority group your application falls into please read the information on the department’s website at: General Skilled Migration For further information regarding State Migration Plans please visit the department’s website at: What's New? Recent Changes in General Skilled Migration http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/pdf/statmig-fs.pdf http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/pdf/statmig-faq.pdf Applications lodged before the following dates are currently being considered by a case officer: Priority 2 State Migration Plan: Please see the attached document for important information relevant to those with a current application in Priority Group 2. (See attached file: Important Information for Priority 2 applicants.pdf) Skilled – Sponsored (Migrant) subclass 176 VE 176 (e-lodged): 18 March 2011 VE 176 (paper): 18 March 2011 Skilled – Sponsored (Residence) subclass 886: VB 886 (e-lodged) 18 March 2011 VB 886 (paper): 18 March 2011 Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) subclass 475 VF 475 (e-lodged): 18 March 2011 VF 475 (paper): 18 March 2011 Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) subclass 487 VB 886 (e-lodged) 18 March 2011 VB 886 (paper): 18 March 2011 Priority group 3 Please see the attached document for important information relevant to those with a current application in Priority Group 3. (See attached file: Important Information for Priority 3 applicants.pdf) Skilled – Independent (Migrant) subclass 175 VE 175 (e-lodged): 2 June 2009 VE 175 (paper): 2 June 2009 Skilled – Sponsored (Migrant) subclass 176 VE 176 (e-lodged):2 June 2009 VE 176 (paper): 2 June 2009 Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) subclass 475 VF 475 (e-lodged): 2 June 2009 VF 475 (paper): 2 June 2009 Skilled – Independent Regional (Provisional) subclass 495 and Skilled – Designated Area Sponsored subclass 496 UX 495 and UZ 496 (e-lodged and paper): All applicants who have an occupation on the new Skilled Occupation List (SOL) – Schedule 3 have been allocated. Skilled – Independent (Residence) subclass 885 VB 885 (e-lodged) 2 September 2010 VB 885 (paper): 2 September 2010 Skilled – Sponsored (Residence) subclass 886: VB 886 (e-lodged) 2 September 2010 VB 886 (paper): 2 September 2010 Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) subclass 487 VC 487 (e-lodged) 2 September 2010 VC 487 (paper): 2 September 2010 Priority Exempt Applications Visa Subclasses 476, 485 and 887 are exempt from the current priority processing direction. Applications under these subclasses will be processed in the order in which they were received by the department. Applications lodged before the following dates are currently being considered by a case officer: Skilled – Recognised Graduate subclass 476 VF 476 (e-lodged): 2 December 2010 VF 476 (paper): 2 December 2010 Skilled – Graduate subclass 485 VC 485 (e-lodged) 22 December 2009 VC 485 (paper): 14 November 2009 Skilled – Regional subclass 887 VB 887 (e-lodged) 17 February 2011 VB 887 (paper): 17 February 2011 Subsequent Entrant Applications All subsequent entrant applications for subclasses 485, 487 and 475: 7 March 2011 Processing Times Estimated processing times for GSM visa applications can be found on our website at: Client Service Charter Estimates of processing times that apply to different types of applications are provided as a guide only. As processing times are dependent on a range of factors, individual processing times may vary considerably from the published estimates. Factors that can impact on processing times include, but are not limited to: - completeness of application - how quickly applicants respond to requests to provide documentation - medical complications - police checks - checks with third parties to verify claims made in an application. Contacting Us Providing additional documents Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit supporting documentation electronically. Providing scanned copies of documents reduces postal and administrative delays in receiving and processing information. GSM processing offices accept scanned copies of original documents (non-certified) provided they are in colour. If you scan documents in black and white, then they must be scanned copies of certified copies. The valid file types for attaching documents are BMP, DOC, DOT, GIF, JPG, PDF, RTF, TXT and XLS. Information which will assist you in attaching documents to your application or in emailing them to the department is available on the department’s website at: Attaching Documents to a General Skilled Migration Visa Application Online applications If you e-lodged this application you are strongly encouraged to attach all the supporting documentation to the application in the web-browser. This is the preferred procedure for providing supporting documents for an e-lodged application. If for any reason you cannot attach documents in the browser then you can email the documents as scanned attachments to the following email address: gsm.documents@immi.gov.au Paper lodged applications If you lodged a paper application you can still provide supporting documentation electronically by emailing the documents as scanned attachments to: gsm.documents@immi.gov.au When emailing documents to the department please quote your Transaction Reference Number (TRN) or file reference number for this purpose. Do not send this office any original documents or provide paper copies of documents previously attached to the browser or sent by e-mail unless asked to do so by a departmental officer. Medical Results If you have undertaken your medical examination with Medibank Health Solutions (formerly Health Services Australia), please do not post your medical results to us unless your case officer requests you to do so. Please store your results in a secure place and do not open the sealed envelope. ENQUIRIES Email Our preferred means of communication for GSM enquiries is email. Before you contact the department with general enquiries about the GSM program, you should first read the relevant website content and links provided in this email. If the website information does not answer your enquiry, please refer below: If you have not lodged a GSM visa application, and would like more information, use the GSM Pre-Lodgement Enquiry Form at: General Skilled Migration Pre-Lodgement Enquiry Form If you have lodged a GSM visa application, but it has not yet been allocated to a case officer, and you have further queries, use the GSM Post-Lodgement Enquiry Form at: General Skilled Migration Post-Lodgement Enquiry Form Allocated to a case officer: Once your application is allocated to a case officer, assessment of your application will begin. At this time, your case officer will provide you with a specific email address and you should correspond directly by email with them. Telephone: 1300 364 613 (in Australia) for the cost of a local call; or +61 1300 364 613 (outside Australia) Contact Hours (Australian Central Time): 0900 to 1600 Monday to Friday Please note: due to the large volume of calls we receive, from time to time you may experience lengthy delays before getting to speak to a customer service officer. LINKS General Skilled Migration – What's New What's New? Recent Changes in General Skilled Migration -------------------------------------------------------------------- Important Notice: If you have received this email by mistake, please advise the sender and delete the message and attachments immediately. This email, including attachments, may contain confidential, sensitive, legally privileged and/or copyright information. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. DIAC respects your privacy and has obligations under the Privacy Act 1988. The official departmental privacy policy can be viewed on the department's website at Department of Immigration & Citizenship. See: Privacy

hi all, we started our visa process in Jan with an agent in manchester, we have now just submitted our skills assessment & been told current processing time for this is a month, then we apply for migration, we are going to be applying for WA state sponsorship, has anyone got even a rough idea how long it could take ? Also when (if!) visa is granted how long do you get to validate the visa & then after validation how long again before you have to go to live? many thanks Jimmy & CHeryl

Another processing time query...sorry sure this has been covered many times. After a stupidly long time I have just managed to get my SS 176 online application into DIAC (before I'm 45 in August...phew!). I'm assuming this is CAT2 and wondering if anyone has any idea how long these are taking to process. And what happens now...do I sit back and wait for police checks and medicals to be requested? Cheers for any help/advice. Al.

Hi I have been working in Dubai for last 5 yrs on Pakistani passport. Recently, I got an offer from Adelaide as Engineer in a big company and my sponsor has lodged the application for 457 visa through a RMA in australia. Now I have been told to submit a form 1221 for internal checks; RMA has informed that there is no timeframe when the internal checks will complete, so that the further visa processing would start. Can somebody tell me how long it takes for the internal checks normally?

Hi We recently applied for state sponsorship with Victoria and have today received an email asking us to confirm our financial assets. Does this give any indication of how far our application has progressed, so in other words should we expct a decision in the next days, weeks, months, or is it fairly open ended? Thanks

We are nearly there with all the processing, even getting abit of interest from Aussie companies regarding work now....things looking up.....Finallllllllllllllly. We would love to hear from any air con or fridge engineers. just done 2079 last week, seems a waste now, ce la vie or however you spell it.

Hi all Hope you're all well - quick question! Has anyone heard anything about the probable processing times for the new 175 visa that's due to come into effect later on this year? I was at an Oz expo in London last Saturday and spoke to one of the agents there (I won't mention names or companies here) who mentioned he had heard that the processing time for the new 175 visa would be in the order of 5 to 10 years. I can't believe this is true, especially as the details for the 175 visa don't appear to be out yet, but has anyone else heard anything regarding this visa? Thanks in advance! Geoff

This is an automated e-mail response which provides updated information on processing of applications for General Skilled Migration (GSM). This information is updated fortnightly. Last updated 4 March 2011. Please do not send enquiries or reply to this email address as this mailbox is not monitored. Contact details for GSM are listed below. Current Processing Dates If your application date has recently come into our current processing date range you should allow at least 6 weeks to enable a case officer to complete the initial assessment. Please refrain from sending requests for an update on the status of your application within this 6 week period. Priority Processed Applications Under the priority processing direction we are giving priority in allocation to applications with a nominated occupation that appears in an active State Migration Plan - Priority Group 2. Priority Group 3 applications are allocated only where all Priority Group 2 have already been allocated. Priority Group 4 cases will be allocated once all Priority Group 3 are allocated. To determine which priority group your application falls into please read the information on the department’s website at: General Skilled Migration For further information regarding State Migration Plans please visit the department’s website at: What's New? Recent Changes in General Skilled Migration http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/pdf/statmig-fs.pdf http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/pdf/statmig-faq.pdf Applications lodged before the following dates are currently being considered by a case officer: Priority 2 State Migration Plan: Please see the attached document for important information relevant to those with a current application in Priority Group 2. (See attached file: Important Information for Priority 2 applicants.pdf) The NSW State Migration Plan was released 3 March 2011. Allocation of Priority 2 applications with an occupation on the NSW SMP will commence in the week ending 11 March 2011. The procesing dates for Priority 2 applications for all other State/ Territories are as below - Skilled – Sponsored (Migrant) subclass 176 VE 176 (e-lodged): 4 March 2011 VE 176 (paper): 4 March 2011 Skilled – Sponsored (Residence) subclass 886: VB 886 (e-lodged) 4 March 2011 VB 886 (paper): 4 March 2011 Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) subclass 475 VF 475 (e-lodged): 4 March 2011 VF 475 (paper): 4 March 2011 Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) subclass 487 VB 886 (e-lodged) 4 March 2011 VB 886 (paper): 4 March 2011 Priority group 3 Please see the attached document for important information relevant to those with a current application in Priority Group 3. (See attached file: Important Information for Priority 3 applicants.pdf) - Allocation of Priority 3 applications will cease until all onhand Priority 2 applications are allocated. - When allocation of Priority 3 applications resumes, any application that has recently moved into Priority 3 and has a commencement date that precedes the dates listed below will be allocated first. Skilled – Independent (Migrant) subclass 175 VE 175 (e-lodged): 28 April 2009 VE 175 (paper): 28 April 2009 Skilled – Sponsored (Migrant) subclass 176 VE 176 (e-lodged):28 April 2009 VE 176 (paper): 28 April 2009 Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) subclass 475 VF 475 (e-lodged): 28 April 2009 VF 475 (paper): 28 April 2009 Skilled – Independent Regional (Provisional) subclass 495 and Skilled – Designated Area Sponsored subclass 496 UX 495 and UZ 496 (e-lodged and paper): All applicants who have an occupation on the new Skilled Occupation List (SOL) – Schedule 3 have been allocated. Skilled – Independent (Residence) subclass 885 VB 885 (e-lodged) 9 July 2010 VB 885 (paper): 28 May 2010 Skilled – Sponsored (Residence) subclass 886: VB 886 (e-lodged) 9 July 2010 VB 886 (paper): 28 May 2010 Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) subclass 487 VC 487 (e-lodged) 9 July 2010 VC 487 (paper): 28 May 2010 Priority Exempt Applications Visa Subclasses 476, 485 and 887 are exempt from the current priority processing direction. Applications under these subclasses will be processed in the order in which they were received by the department. Applications lodged before the following dates are currently being considered by a case officer: Skilled – Recognised Graduate subclass 476 VF 476 (e-lodged): 2 December 2010 VF 476 (paper): 2 December 2010 Skilled – Graduate subclass 485 VC 485 (e-lodged) 22 December 2009 VC 485 (paper): 14 November 2009 Skilled – Regional subclass 887 VB 887 (e-lodged) 17 February 2011 VB 887 (paper): 17 February 2011 Subsequent Entrant Applications All subsequent entrant applications for subclasses 485, 487 and 475: 6 February 2011 Processing Times Estimated processing times for GSM visa applications can be found on our website at: Client Service Charter Estimates of processing times that apply to different types of applications are provided as a guide only. As processing times are dependent on a range of factors, individual processing times may vary considerably from the published estimates. Factors that can impact on processing times include, but are not limited to: - completeness of application - how quickly applicants respond to requests to provide documentation - medical complications - police checks - checks with third parties to verify claims made in an application. Contacting Us Providing additional documents Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit supporting documentation electronically. Providing scanned copies of documents reduces postal and administrative delays in receiving and processing information. GSM processing offices accept scanned copies of original documents (non-certified) provided they are in colour. If you scan documents in black and white, then they must be scanned copies of certified copies. The valid file types for attaching documents are BMP, DOC, DOT, GIF, JPG, PDF, RTF, TXT and XLS. Information which will assist you in attaching documents to your application or in emailing them to the department is available on the department’s website at: Attaching Documents to a General Skilled Migration Visa Application Online applications If you e-lodged this application you are strongly encouraged to attach all the supporting documentation to the application in the web-browser. This is the preferred procedure for providing supporting documents for an e-lodged application. If for any reason you cannot attach documents in the browser then you can email the documents as scanned attachments to the following email address: gsm.documents@immi.gov.au Paper lodged applications If you lodged a paper application you can still provide supporting documentation electronically by emailing the documents as scanned attachments to: gsm.documents@immi.gov.au When emailing documents to the department please quote your Transaction Reference Number (TRN) or file reference number for this purpose. Do not send this office any original documents or provide paper copies of documents previously attached to the browser or sent by e-mail unless asked to do so by a departmental officer. Medical Results If you have undertaken your medical examination with Medibank Health Solutions (formerly Health Services Australia), please do not post your medical results to us unless your case officer requests you to do so. Please store your results in a secure place and do not open the sealed envelope. ENQUIRIES Email Our preferred means of communication for GSM enquiries is email. Before you contact the department with general enquiries about the GSM program, you should first read the relevant website content and links provided in this email. If the website information does not answer your enquiry, please refer below: If you have not lodged a GSM visa application, and would like more information, use the GSM Pre-Lodgement Enquiry Form at: General Skilled Migration Pre-Lodgement Enquiry Form If you have lodged a GSM visa application, but it has not yet been allocated to a case officer, and you have further queries, use the GSM Post-Lodgement Enquiry Form at: http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/forms/gsm/post.htm Allocated to a case officer: Once your application is allocated to a case officer, assessment of your application will begin. At this time, your case officer will provide you with a specific email address and you should correspond directly by email with them. Telephone: 1300 364 613 (in Australia) for the cost of a local call; or +61 1300 364 613 (outside Australia) Contact Hours (Australian Central Time): 0900 to 1600 Monday to Friday Please note: due to the large volume of calls we receive, from time to time you may experience lengthy delays before getting to speak to a customer service officer. LINKS General Skilled Migration – What's New What's New? Recent Changes in General Skilled Migration -------------------------------------------------------------------- Important Notice: If you have received this email by mistake, please advise the sender and delete the message and attachments immediately. This email, including attachments, may contain confidential, sensitive, legally privileged and/or copyright information. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. DIAC respects your privacy and has obligations under the Privacy Act 1988. The official departmental privacy policy can be viewed on the department's website at Department of Immigration & Citizenship. See: http://www.immi.gov.au/functional/privacy.htm

Applications lodged before the following dates are currently being considered by a case officer: Priority 2 State Migration Plan*: (* State migration Plan currently available for VIC, ACT, NT, QLD, Tas, WA & SA) Please see the attached document for important information relevant to those with a current application in Priority Group 2. (See attached file: Important Information for Priority 2 applicants.pdf) Skilled – Sponsored (Migrant) subclass 176 VE 176 (e-lodged): 15 February 2011 VE 176 (paper): 15 February 2011 Skilled – Sponsored (Residence) subclass 886: VB 886 (e-lodged) 4 February 2011 VB 886 (paper): 4 February 2011 Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) subclass 475 VF 475 (e-lodged): 15 February 2011 VF 475 (paper): 15 February 2011 Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) subclass 487 VB 886 (e-lodged) 4 February 2011 VB 886 (paper): 4 February 2011 Priority group 3 Please see the attached document for important information relevant to those with a current application in Priority Group 3. (See attached file: Important Information for Priority 3 applicants.pdf) Allocation of Priority Group 3 applications will recommence once all onhand Priority Group 2 applications have been allocated. Any application that was previously Priority Group 4 that is now eligible for Priority Group 3 processing which was lodged before the dates listed below will be allocated first once Priority Group 3 allocations resume. Skilled – Independent (Migrant) subclass 175 VE 175 (e-lodged): 14 January 2009 VE 175 (paper): 14 January 2009 Skilled – Sponsored (Migrant) subclass 176 VE 176 (e-lodged):14 January 2009 VE 176 (paper): 14 January 2009 Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) subclass 475 VF 475 (e-lodged): 14 January 2009 VF 475 (paper): 14 January 2009 Skilled – Independent Regional (Provisional) subclass 495 and Skilled – Designated Area Sponsored subclass 496 UX 495 and UZ 496 (e-lodged and paper): All applicants who have an occupation on the new Skilled Occupation List (SOL) – Schedule 3 have been allocated. Skilled – Independent (Residence) subclass 885 VB 885 (e-lodged) 30 March 2010 VB 885 (paper): 15 January 2010 Skilled – Sponsored (Residence) subclass 886: VB 886 (e-lodged) 7 March 2010 VB 886 (paper): 15 January 2010 Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) subclass 487 VC 487 (e-lodged) 30 March 2010 VC 487 (paper): 6 November 2009 Priority Exempt Applications Visa Subclasses 476, 485 and 887 are exempt from the current priority processing direction. Applications under these subclasses will be processed in the order in which they were received by the department. Applications lodged before the following dates are currently being considered by a case officer: Skilled – Recognised Graduate subclass 476 VF 476 (e-lodged): 2 December 2010 VF 476 (paper): 2 December 2010 Skilled – Graduate subclass 485 VC 485 (e-lodged) 16 December 2009 VC 485 (paper): 14 November 2009 Skilled – Regional subclass 887 VB 887 (e-lodged) 9 February 2011 VB 887 (paper): 20 November 2010 Subsequent Entrant Applications All subsequent entrant applications for subclasses 485, 487 and 475: 28 January 2011 Looks like all CAT 2 apps have got CO. CAT 3 is also slowly moving on.

Thought I would give everyone a heads up of my current situation. 1.Applied for the De-facto visa on the 14th Feb (Fully Loaded including police and medical); 2.Money taken 17th Feb; 3. 24th Feb CO appointed, furhter information requested as we were travelling from oz to London during a period they want a written statement detailing this. Also my birth certificate was not a full one apparently, I did not know this but thought I would post and make sure people provide a full birth certificate, if you do not have one, you can order a certified copy from the below link; https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/default.asp 4. 1st March, all further info sent, now awaiting approval, CO said this could take up to 6 months. Anyone have ideas of timelines for De-Facto Visa processing times in London??

************************GENERAL SKILLED MIGRATION **************************PROCESSING INFORMATION This is an automated e-mail response which provides updated information on ***processing of applications for General Skilled Migration (GSM). This *******************information is updated fortnightly. **********************Last updated 17 February 2011. ***Please do not send enquiries or reply to this email address as this **mailbox is not monitored. *Contact details for GSM *are listed below. Current Processing Dates If your application date has recently come into our current processing date range you should allow at least 6 weeks to enable a case officer to complete the initial assessment. Please refrain from sending requests for an update on the status of your application within this 6 week period. Priority Processed Applications Under the priority processing direction we are giving priority in allocation to applications with a nominated occupation that appears in an active State Migration Plan - Priority Group 2. Priority Group 3 applications are allocated only where all Priority Group 2 have already been allocated. *Priority Group 4 cases will be allocated once all Priority Group 3 are allocated. To determine which priority group your application falls into please read the information on the department’s website at: General Skilled Migration For further information regarding State Migration Plans please visit the department’s website at: What's New? Recent Changes in General Skilled Migration http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/pdf/statmig-fs.pdf http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/pdf/statmig-faq.pdf Applications lodged before the following dates are currently being considered by a case officer: Priority 2 State Migration Plan*: (* State migration Plan currently available for VIC, ACT, NT, QLD, Tas, WA & SA) Please see the attached document for important information relevant to those with a current application in Priority Group 2. (See attached file: Important Information for Priority 2 applicants.pdf) Skilled – Sponsored (Migrant) subclass 176 VE 176 (e-lodged): 17 February 2011 VE 176 (paper): 17 February 2011 Skilled – Sponsored (Residence) subclass 886: VB 886 (e-lodged) 17 February 2011 VB 886 (paper): 17 February 2011 Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) subclass 475 VF 475 (e-lodged): 17 February 2011 VF 475 (paper): 17 February 2011 Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) subclass 487 VB 886 (e-lodged) 17 February 2011 VB 886 (paper): 17 February 2011 Priority group 3 Please see the attached document for important information relevant to those with a current application in Priority Group 3. (See attached file: Important Information for Priority 3 applicants.pdf) Skilled – Independent (Migrant) subclass 175 VE 175 (e-lodged): 28 April 2009 VE 175 (paper): 28 April 2009 Skilled – Sponsored (Migrant) subclass 176 VE 176 (e-lodged):28 April 2009 VE 176 (paper): 28 April 2009 Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) subclass 475 VF 475 (e-lodged): 28 April 2009 VF 475 (paper): 28 April 2009 Skilled – Independent Regional (Provisional) subclass 495 and Skilled – Designated Area Sponsored subclass 496 UX 495 and UZ 496 (e-lodged and paper): All applicants who have an occupation on the new Skilled Occupation List (SOL) – Schedule 3 have been allocated. Skilled – Independent (Residence) subclass 885 VB 885 (e-lodged) 15 June 2010 VB 885 (paper): 28 May 2010 Skilled – Sponsored (Residence) subclass 886: VB 886 (e-lodged) 15 June 2010 VB 886 (paper): 28 May 2010 Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) subclass 487 VC 487 (e-lodged) 15 June 2010 VC 487 (paper): 28 May 2010 Priority Exempt Applications Visa Subclasses 476, 485 and 887 are exempt from the current priority processing direction. *Applications under these subclasses will be processed in the order in which they were received by the department. Applications lodged before the following dates are currently being considered by a case officer: Skilled – Recognised Graduate subclass 476 VF 476 (e-lodged): 2 December 2010 VF 476 (paper): 2 December 2010 Skilled – Graduate subclass 485 VC 485 (e-lodged) 22 December 2009 VC 485 (paper): 14 November 2009 Skilled – Regional subclass 887 VB 887 (e-lodged) 17 February 2011 VB 887 (paper): 17 February 2011 Subsequent Entrant Applications All subsequent entrant applications for subclasses 485, 487 and 475: 28 January 2011 Processing Times Estimated processing times for GSM visa applications can be found on our website at: http://www.immi.gov.au/about/charters/client-services-charter/visas/8.0.htm Estimates of processing times that apply to different types of applications are provided as a guide only. As processing times are dependent on a range of factors, individual processing times may vary considerably from the published estimates. Factors that can impact on processing times include, but are not limited to: - completeness of application - how quickly applicants respond to requests to provide documentation - medical complications - police checks - checks with third parties to verify claims made in an application. Contacting Us Providing additional documents Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit supporting documentation electronically. *Providing scanned copies of documents reduces postal and administrative delays in receiving and processing information. GSM processing offices accept scanned copies of original documents (non-certified) provided they are in colour. If you scan documents in black and white, then they must be scanned copies of certified copies. The valid file types for attaching documents are BMP, DOC, DOT, GIF, JPG, PDF, RTF, TXT and XLS. Information which will assist you in attaching documents to your application or in emailing them to the department is available on the department’s website at: Attaching Documents to a General Skilled Migration Visa Application Online applications If you e-lodged this application you are strongly encouraged to attach all the supporting documentation to the application in the web-browser. This is the preferred procedure for providing supporting documents for an e-lodged application. If for any reason you cannot attach documents in the browser then you can email the documents as scanned attachments to the following email address: gsm.documents@immi.gov.au Paper lodged applications If you lodged a paper application you can still provide supporting documentation electronically by emailing the documents as scanned attachments to: gsm.documents@immi.gov.au When emailing documents to the department please quote your Transaction Reference Number (TRN) or file reference number for this purpose. Do *not send this office any original documents or provide paper copies of documents *previously *attached *to *the *browser or sent by e-mail unless asked to do so by a departmental officer. Medical Results If you have undertaken your medical examination with Medibank Health Solutions (formerly Health Services Australia), please do not post your medical results to us unless your case officer requests you to do so. Please store your results in a secure place and do not open the sealed envelope. ENQUIRIES Email Our preferred means of communication for GSM enquiries is email. Before you contact the department with general enquiries about the GSM program, you should first read the relevant website content and links provided in this email. If the website information does not answer your enquiry, please refer below: If you have not lodged a GSM visa application, and would like more information, use the GSM Pre-Lodgement Enquiry Form at: General Skilled Migration Pre-Lodgement Enquiry Form If you have lodged a GSM visa application, but it has not yet been allocated to a case officer, and you have further queries, use the GSM Post-Lodgement Enquiry Form at: General Skilled Migration Post-Lodgement Enquiry Form Allocated to a case officer: Once your application is allocated to a case officer, assessment of your application will begin. *At this time, your case officer will provide you with a specific email address and you should correspond directly by email with them. Telephone: * *1300 364 613 (in Australia) for the cost of a local call; or * *+61 1300 364 613 (outside Australia) * * *Contact Hours (Australian Central Time): 0900 to 1600 Monday to Friday Please note: due to the large volume of calls we receive, from time to time you may experience lengthy delays before getting to speak to a customer service officer. LINKS General Skilled Migration – What's New What's New? Recent Changes in General Skilled Migration -------------------------------------------------------------------- Important Notice: If you have received this email by mistake, please advise the sender and delete the message and attachments immediately. *This email, including attachments, may contain confidential, sensitive, legally privileged and/or copyright information. *Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. *DIAC respects your privacy and has obligations under the Privacy Act 1988. *The official departmental privacy policy can be viewed on the department's website at Department of Immigration & Citizenship. *See: http://www.immi.gov.au/functional/privacy.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi, I am going to lodge in my 886 application next week (I have everything ready apart from the IELTS result, which I checked online that I have four 7s but have not received the report card yet). I am wondering if the paper or online application process faster? I will be in Cate 3. I have read from somewhere about the processing times for GSM but I can't find the website again. Does anyone know about it? I have printed and completed my visa application on paper already, but I don't mind to do it online again if it's easier that way. Thanks in advance! :biggrin: PS. also... do you happen to know how long does it take to have my bridging visa? I am guessing I should have it straight after I lodge in my application?

Hi to all, and I hope that you are all getting along nicely this evening. It's been a while since I have been on here, infact it's been a while since I first started this long drawn process. So after alot of time, I have finally had some good news. I applied for a Subclass 176 Skilled Sponsored Visa for Victoria, and have has a successful outcome. Now I have to apply to the DIAC, which again seems a daunting process, and will require alot of patience and putting life plan on hold again, but what i don't know is, how long for. So is there any indication as to how long the processing times are for a Subclass 176 Skilled Sponsored Visa, going as a 32 year old, English Carpenter/Joiner, whom is heading in the direction of Melbourne? I have a feeling that this again is going to be a long process! I haven't actually applied to the DIAC yet as I only received the positive outcome from Victoria Immigration yesterday, and have to now read and understand what the next step is. If anybody has any information, it would be much appreciated, as this again will determine what happens in the next stage of my life... Many thanks, and good luck in your own quests, Scotty.

Is this the norm? Does it mean that we are now in the long wait like everyone else, like it is a generic status? Or does it mean more?