cwarwick Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Hi everyone, So I've got a slightly complicated situation and looking for some advice on which would be the best route for me to take. My situation is that I'm currently on a 417 (working holiday visa) which expires on 19/01/14 and I'm not eligible to get a 2nd year WHV. I want to be in Australia for the next 18 months as my girlfriend is an international student studying at Sydney Uni, after this we are planning on moving back to Europe. I have a very good job for a company in Northern Ireland and they are allowing me to work remotely until after my gf has finished uni, but I have to go back to Ireland 2-3 times this year for periods ranging between 3 weeks to 3 months. I submitted my EOI for a 189 (Skilled Permanent) visa on 29/12/13 with my occupation being 261312 (Developer Programmer) and I had 65 points (should have been more but ACS ignored the 5+ years of contracting work as I couldn't get enough references from the many companies I did 3 months contract work for in time to apply for my skill assessment). I am hoping that I will get an invitation on the next round which is 13/01/14, and that I can submit my visa application and be granted a bridging visa before my 417 expires. But with the bridging visa there are issues in that I'd then have to apply for a Bridging Visa B to be able to leave the country. However, the other option I have looked at is that as I am not actually working for any Australian companies I have also looked at applying for a 600 (Visitor) visa on the tourist stream, but the information on it is a bit fluffy, they say it could last from 3 to 12 months, and that you may or may not be able to leave the country. And I'm worried that if I got this visa that I'd end up having issues with travelling to and from the country. The next option is the 651 (eVisitor), but this is awkward because of being forced to leave the country every 3 months, and also because I'm not sure if they'd let me back in to Oz every time I left the country. Obviously if I don't get the invitation for the 189 visa then these become my only options. So, that's pretty much the situation, now my questions: Is the Bridging Visa B option viable for my intended travel plans? Would it be likely that I could apply for the bridging visa B to have it last for an extended period, say 12 months, even though most of that time I would be in Australia, I may have to leave to go to Ireland on fairly short notice, plus I have 2 children in Europe that I'd also be visiting when I go over to work, and if any emergency came up then I may also want to leave to go to them with very short notice. What are the chances of getting a 12 month visitor (600) visa and being allowed to leave and re-enter the country? And if I did would I then be able to get another to cover the next 6 months or even get a 651 (eVisitor) visa after the 600? Are then any problems with getting one of the Visitor visas that I might have missed? Any other advice/ideas? Obviously, the 189 visa is going to cost me a lot more money, plus I have a few grand in my superannuation which I could withdraw if I didn't go down the 189 route, but the 189 seems like the more stable path to take, and if something were to happen with my current job (unlikely, but not impossible) then I could get work in Oz. Thoughts? Thanks for reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Well first off, you can't work here, even for an offshore company unless you have a visa which allows you to. A tourist visa doesn't. Bridging visa b lasts for three months. As far as I know it is a set time. In theory it is only for emergencies. Some people have had hassle getting it. I told them I was going to see a friend and had no issues. I'd been here for over three years without leaving at that point though. Most of the tourist visas you will be able to come and go (but not work). Had you looked into if you can be added onto your partners student visa? Depending on the course you may be restricted in how many hours you can work. How long have you lived together (that you can prove)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwarwick Posted January 11, 2014 Author Share Posted January 11, 2014 I don't think getting put on to my gf's student visa is an option, we have only been living together that we can prove for about 4-5 months, although it's actually been about 11 months. I've done some searching on the forum for timeline of 189 and I couldn't find much info, but from what I did it seems that some are getting granted within 2-3 months, is this roughly the norm for those that have all their documentation ready at the moment? If so then it probably won't be an issue (assuming I get an invite). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 I wouldn't be pinning all your hopes on an invite. You have a very small time window. I'm not sure on the time frames for that visa I'm afraid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwarwick Posted January 11, 2014 Author Share Posted January 11, 2014 Well if the invite doesn't come then I'll have to figure something else out. I didn't plan on having such a short time to sort this out, but after being screwed around by a company here for a 457 visa and then the very long wait for the ACS skills assessment, I'm just glad I managed to get the EOI submitted for at least one round of invites before my visa expires. Thanks for you help blossom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Good luck. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killara Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 The 189 is your best option, if you get the invite on 13/01/14. You may need to get separate bridging visa B's for your separate visits to Ireland while you are waiting on decision on the 189 if a decision has not been made on the 189. If you get an invite, you should expect 189 processing to take at least 5-6 months. The alternatives to 189 will likely cause difficulties for leaving / re entering Australia. Multiple eVisitor or visitor entries will almost certainly cause immigration to question you on your point of re-entry to Australia to determine whether you are a genuine tourist visitor. You will need to act quickly if you receive the invite on 13/01/14 to ensure that you have a bridging visa in time before your WHV expires. Fingers crossed for you for the 13/01/14 invite round! Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lebourvellec Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 From looking at the skilselect reports - I think you have good chance of invitation with 65 points in your occupation code as in the last 5 rounds of invitations the lowest points of someone that has been invited has been 60 points. fingers crossed. Also not sure if you know that your children will require medicals as part of your 189 application. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwarwick Posted January 11, 2014 Author Share Posted January 11, 2014 Why would my children require medicals, they won't be part of my application as they live with their mother? Well hopefully all goes well with the 189, I've checked the required documents and I think I'm all set as most of it was required for my ACS assessment, the only things I need to get are my health and character documents, from what I've read the visa can be applied for before having these, is that correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Why would my children require medicals, they won't be part of my application as they live with their mother? Well hopefully all goes well with the 189, I've checked the required documents and I think I'm all set as most of it was required for my ACS assessment, the only things I need to get are my health and character documents, from what I've read the visa can be applied for before having these, is that correct? Your children need the Medicals incase they one day want to apply to join you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lebourvellec Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Why would my children require medicals, they won't be part of my application as they live with their mother? Well hopefully all goes well with the 189, I've checked the required documents and I think I'm all set as most of it was required for my ACS assessment, the only things I need to get are my health and character documents, from what I've read the visa can be applied for before having these, is that correct? Your children will require medicals as they are non-migrating dependants. They will require them due to the medical waivers that are in place for child visas. Medicals and police checks and uploading of all your documents can be done after your application has been lodged. You have 28 days to upload your documents - as you are in Australia, front loading before you get CO your medicals and police checks is usually advised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwarwick Posted February 10, 2014 Author Share Posted February 10, 2014 Well just a quick update to this thread to say thanks to everyone for the help. I got the invitation and applied for my 189 visa on 13th Jan, got my medical done a few days later, and finally got my police check back last week and submitted it, then get an email just now to say the visa has been approved, so less than a month from application to approval for my 189! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Well just a quick update to this thread to say thanks to everyone for the help. I got the invitation and applied for my 189 visa on 13th Jan, got my medical done a few days later, and finally got my police check back last week and submitted it, then get an email just now to say the visa has been approved, so less than a month from application to approval for my 189! That's good going. Congratulations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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