Visa 175 - G5

[southafrican]

Hi,

its been a very long time since my last post on pomsinoz. I just wanted to share our excellent news and offer to help anyone in the situation we were in. We applied under visa subclass 175 (Computing professional NEC) in May 2009. We were waiting very patiently to have a case officer allocated but nothing at all was happening.

 

I then decided to call DIAC back in February this year and they advised me to do another skills assessment. I completed this under the Systems and networks engineer (or something like that).

 

Anyway, we've been granted our visa as of 21st August 2013 and are ecstatic. Its been such a long wait and to be honest, I sort of gave up on it all.

 

Now reality has struck and we have to decide when we're off. Its a very exciting but nerve wracking time.

 

Anyone need any help, please give me a shout as I understand how stressful the process can be.

 

Thanks,

 

Mehul

 

Could you please let us know in what category you where before and after you re-assessed your skills? I know of some people that has done that and that has moved them into category 4 (from category 5)...resulting in them getting their visa earlier. If your job is on the demand list them you are higher up in a category and will get your visa sooner. If you do re-assess your skill to a different one and are still placed in category 5, then it will make no difference to your application.

[mdesai11]

Could you please let us know in what category you where before and after you re-assessed your skills? I know of some people that has done that and that has moved them into category 4 (from category 5)...resulting in them getting their visa earlier. If your job is on the demand list them you are higher up in a category and will get your visa sooner. If you do re-assess your skill to a different one and are still placed in category 5, then it will make no difference to your application.

 

Hi,

I was in category 5 and was moved up to category 4 after the successful new skills assessment.

 

Thanks

[southafrican]

I called the DIAC and this is what they said (Out of the mouth of DIAC......)

 

 

"Wait for a case officer, do not do your medicals or anything else right now. The Case officer will contact you when they need further documents"

 

They also confirmed that processing is around end of May 2008 (as the immi site states)

 

So to all of us that has perfected the art of waiting......let's wait some more

[The Constant Traveller]

Does anybody else remember the 2010 reform to skilled migration, which included the cancellation of almost 20,000 General Skilled Migration visa applications lodged offshore before September 2007? I wonder if there is a possibility of this kind of backlog clearing happening once again, particularly after a change of government. The cost to the Australian government would not even be that significant (not sure how many applicants are still waiting but certainly not millions) and since we all paid upfront (i.e. we gave Australia an interest-free loan) the money used for the refund would not be coming out of Australia's own pocket.

 

It could be a neat way for the new minister to start afresh and not have to deal with the thousands of applications that the previous government did not want to deal with, either. For example, they could decide to scrap everyone who applied before the introduction of SkillSelect as that would give them a valid excuse (improved assessment method, more targeted selection, etc.).

 

Please don't get me wrong, I am not saying that the possibility of this happening is more likely than DIAC continuing to process our applications until everyone has got their visa. What I am saying is that I am not discounting the possibility of DIAC doing this kind of clean-up again, also because the last refund action took place three years ago and since then unprocessed Cat 5 applications have been allowed to pile up once more.

Edited September 23, 2013 by The Constant Traveller

[2027342883]

Hi there,

I'm new here. I am wondering if there is any update on 175 application. I lodged my application in May 2009 and have heard nothing from DIAC ever since then. Can anyone here shed light on the 175 application? Thanks

[kimmo88]

Hi there,

I'm new here. I am wondering if there is any update on 175 application. I lodged my application in May 2009 and have heard nothing from DIAC ever since then. Can anyone here shed light on the 175 application? Thanks

 

175 G5 processing is stuck at those applications in May 2008. Do take a look at my signature.

[xenos1987]

I don't think so. DIMIA/DIAC is well aware that there will no longer be any further applicants from 175/176/885/886 subclasses and therefore in my opinion can assess a number of applications every year to reduce the backlog. If a cap and cease were to happen it would have happened a long time ago and 176 lodged prior to Sept 2007 would have not been the only group to be affected by the cap and cease measure.

 

Does anybody else remember the 2010 reform to skilled migration, which included the cancellation of almost 20,000 General Skilled Migration visa applications lodged offshore before September 2007? I wonder if there is a possibility of this kind of backlog clearing happening once again, particularly after a change of government. The cost to the Australian government would not even be that significant (not sure how many applicants are still waiting but certainly not millions) and since we all paid upfront (i.e. we gave Australia an interest-free loan) the money used for the refund would not be coming out of Australia's own pocket.

 

It could be a neat way for the new minister to start afresh and not have to deal with the thousands of applications that the previous government did not want to deal with, either. For example, they could decide to scrap everyone who applied before the introduction of SkillSelect as that would give them a valid excuse (improved assessment method, more targeted selection, etc.).

 

Please don't get me wrong, I am not saying that the possibility of this happening is more likely than DIAC continuing to process our applications until everyone has got their visa. What I am saying is that I am not discounting the possibility of DIAC doing this kind of clean-up again, also because the last refund action took place three years ago and since then unprocessed Cat 5 applications have been allowed to pile up once more.

[kimmo88]

Does anybody else remember the 2010 reform to skilled migration, which included the cancellation of almost 20,000 General Skilled Migration visa applications lodged offshore before September 2007? I wonder if there is a possibility of this kind of backlog clearing happening once again, particularly after a change of government. The cost to the Australian government would not even be that significant (not sure how many applicants are still waiting but certainly not millions) and since we all paid upfront (i.e. we gave Australia an interest-free loan) the money used for the refund would not be coming out of Australia's own pocket.

 

It could be a neat way for the new minister to start afresh and not have to deal with the thousands of applications that the previous government did not want to deal with, either. For example, they could decide to scrap everyone who applied before the introduction of SkillSelect as that would give them a valid excuse (improved assessment method, more targeted selection, etc.).

 

Please don't get me wrong, I am not saying that the possibility of this happening is more likely than DIAC continuing to process our applications until everyone has got their visa. What I am saying is that I am not discounting the possibility of DIAC doing this kind of clean-up again, also because the last refund action took place three years ago and since then unprocessed Cat 5 applications have been allowed to pile up once more.

 

Gosh..I hope this don't come true. We are so close and should be next on the list for CO Allocation which stopped at May 2008.

[The Constant Traveller]

Gosh..I hope this don't come true. We are so close and should be next on the list for CO Allocation which stopped at May 2008.

 

Yes, it would be absolutely ridiculous if they scrapped our applications now, wouldn't it? Your application date is only one month after mine and we are both pretty close to May 2008. I still wonder how some 175 applicants with later application dates managed to get processed before us, though. Either processing order is by application date or it isn't, so how come a few selected people got processed even though they applied months after we did? I am happy for those people, but I would really like to understand the selection process, that's all.

[The Constant Traveller]

Hi all. I received an email today requesting me to prepare and send form 80, pcc and medicals in order to facilitate quicker processing of my application once a case officer has been allocated to me. In the email it says:

"Under the current ministerial direction your application is in Priority Group 5 and; subject to any changes in the priority processing direction; it is anticipated that your application will be allocated to a case officer within the next twelve (12) months."

[kimmo88]

Hi all. I received an email today requesting me to prepare and send form 80, pcc and medicals in order to facilitate quicker processing of my application once a case officer has been allocated to me. In the email it says:

"Under the current ministerial direction your application is in Priority Group 5 and; subject to any changes in the priority processing direction; it is anticipated that your application will be allocated to a case officer within the next twelve (12) months."

 

That is wonderful news! I've checked with my agent and they said only application with CO assigned will get this request for form 80, pcc, etc. But in your case, you were not assigned with CO yet right? I'll re-check again with my agent.

[The Constant Traveller]

That is wonderful news! I've checked with my agent and they said only application with CO assigned will get this request for form 80, pcc, etc. But in your case, you were not assigned with CO yet right? I'll re-check again with my agent.

 

Correct, no CO and it seems like a whole lot of us got that email around the same time. There are similar postings to mine in the other thread. If you haven't received this email yet you should probably get in touch with your agent and ask for an update. I haven't used an agent so everything is going to me directly.

 

By the way, 'allocated' within the next 12 months could potentially mean that once the application has been allocated it could take another 12 months for it to get processed. I am from a low risk country and I thought this would mean a relatively short processing period, however, now that I have read up on all the checks they may want to do (employment background checks first and foremost), this could take a long time still.

 

Both my partner and I have changed jobs a few times and have had periods of unemployment in between. We also travel a lot and giving them a list of all my international trips in the last 10 years is a real headache. I have listed what I remembered and could reconstruct from stamps and visas in my passports, but there are bound to be flaws and gaps. My partner was away on business trips around Europe and to the US once or twice every month for a while, so it is even worse in his case.

 

When we applied back in 2008 I didn't think there was a need for us to fill in the dreaded form 80. The stuff I had to fill in online was not quite as detailed as far as I remember. I certainly did not have to provide the name of my thesis supervisor (no idea, too long ago, and the physical evidence is God knows where at my parents' place).

 

I am actually surprised they don't ask which underwear brand I prefer, particularly since I saw a posting somewhere else where someone got asked about his sleeping arrangements with his wife (the couple already had a child and another on the way). Why would they possibly want to know that?

[kimmo88]

Correct, no CO and it seems like a whole lot of us got that email around the same time. There are similar postings to mine in the other thread. If you haven't received this email yet you should probably get in touch with your agent and ask for an update. I haven't used an agent so everything is going to me directly.

 

By the way, 'allocated' within the next 12 months could potentially mean that once the application has been allocated it could take another 12 months for it to get processed. I am from a low risk country and I thought this would mean a relatively short processing period, however, now that I have read up on all the checks they may want to do (employment background checks first and foremost), this could take a long time still.

 

Both my partner and I have changed jobs a few times and have had periods of unemployment in between. We also travel a lot and giving them a list of all my international trips in the last 10 years is a real headache. I have listed what I remembered and could reconstruct from stamps and visas in my passports, but there are bound to be flaws and gaps. My partner was away on business trips around Europe and to the US once or twice every month for a while, so it is even worse in his case.

 

When we applied back in 2008 I didn't think there was a need for us to fill in the dreaded form 80. The stuff I had to fill in online was not quite as detailed as far as I remember. I certainly did not have to provide the name of my thesis supervisor (no idea, too long ago, and the physical evidence is God knows where at my parents' place).

 

I am actually surprised they don't ask which underwear brand I prefer, particularly since I saw a posting somewhere else where someone got asked about his sleeping arrangements with his wife (the couple already had a child and another on the way). Why would they possibly want to know that?

 

Hi ConstantTraveller,

 

Thanks for your long feed-back. Let's not get too worried about form 80, I would be very happy if they start assigning CO to us. Your application is just a month before mine. I'm still waiting for my agent to respond about the broadcast email from DIAC. Just wondering if your online status changes after you receive the email?

[The Constant Traveller]

Hi ConstantTraveller,

 

Thanks for your long feed-back. Let's not get too worried about form 80, I would be very happy if they start assigning CO to us. Your application is just a month before mine. I'm still waiting for my agent to respond about the broadcast email from DIAC. Just wondering if your online status changes after you receive the email?

 

No change in my online status. It has been 'application being processed further' since early 2010 when I sent an enquiry to DIAC and someone there opened my file to take a look at it.

[Racoon]

On from Sep to Dec on 2012, a lot of 175 applicant got PR.

Some of them just requested PCC and medical check.

They needed to wait for about 4 years until got PR.

And we need to wait for at least 5 years.

Recently, only 885 applicants lodged on 2011 got PR.

We lodged the visa on 2008 or 2009!!

 

And when I checked the Chinese forum using by dictionary, I was surprised at some fact.

One group5 applicant lodged 175 visa on Nov 2008 had CO on May 2012 and got PR on Jul 2012.

DIAC start to processing group 5 visa on Sep 2012 but he/she got visa before that.

It might be CO's mistake but it is so unfair.

[kimmo88]

On from Sep to Dec on 2012, a lot of 175 applicant got PR.

Some of them just requested PCC and medical check.

They needed to wait for about 4 years until got PR.

And we need to wait for at least 5 years.

Recently, only 885 applicants lodged on 2011 got PR.

We lodged the visa on 2008 or 2009!!

 

And when I checked the Chinese forum using by dictionary, I was surprised at some fact.

One group5 applicant lodged 175 visa on Nov 2008 had CO on May 2012 and got PR on Jul 2012.

DIAC start to processing group 5 visa on Sep 2012 but he/she got visa before that.

It might be CO's mistake but it is so unfair.

 

It may not be first come first serve basis and it seems to me DIAC maybe choosing who to process first by profession that are in demand. I know this is unfair, as some of us have been waiting for more than 5 years!

[parissa]

It's been one year since my case allicating bloody CO. I think they dont give a damn.

One of my friend applied march 2008, got CO on Nov 2012 got her medical and pcc call two weeks ago.

 

In general there is no rule in the immi.....

[Racoon]

Hi parissa,

 

I don't have a CO yet and I don't know when 175 visa processing start again.

There is no clue.

But you have a CO so you still have a hope.

[kimmo88]

Parissa and Singhb - both of you got CO assigned but still no visa granted..any latest updates?

[The Constant Traveller]

Hi everyone, it seems I have got a CO! It is someone from team 34. She is requesting more information, most of which I won't be able to provide within 28 days, I reckon, for example a new passport. I will do my best, of course, but some stuff will come with a delay.

[kimmo88]

Hi everyone, it seems I have got a CO! It is someone from team 34. She is requesting more information, most of which I won't be able to provide within 28 days, I reckon, for example a new passport. I will do my best, of course, but some stuff will come with a delay.

 

That is good news! Better get those items ASAP! The more you delay, the colder your case gets..

[The Constant Traveller]

That is good news! Better get those items ASAP! The more you delay, the colder your case gets..

 

By the way, my online status has not changed yet, so obviously there is no direct or immediate correlation between CO assignment and online status.

 

One thing that is puzzling me is this one: "Please provide evidence of your continuing de facto relationship. (Please refer to the attached information sheet, which details types of documentation required)."

 

There is no attached information sheet, at least nothing remotely to do with relationship status and how to prove it, so I am in the dark about what kind of documentation they might accept. My relationship status has not changed, everything is still the same as it was five years ago when I initially sent them various documents to prove that my partner and I had an ongoing relationship (lease, bank statements, utility bills, statutory declaration from friends and family, etc.). Any idea what they might want now? The same stuff all over again?

[parissa]

Parissa and Singhb - both of you got CO assigned but still no visa granted..any latest updates?

 

nothing yet.... CO said still under assessment after 12months requested form 80 and other docs.....

[Rupert]

By the way, my online status has not changed yet, so obviously there is no direct or immediate correlation between CO assignment and online status.

 

One thing that is puzzling me is this one: "Please provide evidence of your continuing de facto relationship. (Please refer to the attached information sheet, which details types of documentation required)."

 

There is no attached information sheet, at least nothing remotely to do with relationship status and how to prove it, so I am in the dark about what kind of documentation they might accept. My relationship status has not changed, everything is still the same as it was five years ago when I initially sent them various documents to prove that my partner and I had an ongoing relationship (lease, bank statements, utility bills, statutory declaration from friends and family, etc.). Any idea what they might want now? The same stuff all over again?

 

I am going to assume you have not only just sent your evidence in, in which case they just want updates, that is to make sure you didn't split up last month.

[The Constant Traveller]

I am going to assume you have not only just sent your evidence in, in which case they just want updates, that is to make sure you didn't split up last month.

 

It is a litte bizarre because it almost seems as if they haven't looked at any of the stuff we sent them in 2008. I asked my CO what types of evidence I need to provide and she pointed me to a website where there is a list of things you can attach to your application as evidence of a de facto relationship. We did attach all of them in 2008.

 

I am now going to send them new (not only updated) statutory declarations from myself and my partner (previously we did a combined one and apparently they do not like that) and three new ones written by friends of ours. I did not have the first ones in 2008 witnessed by a solicitor so I will have it done with this new set of declarations, just to be on the safe side.