190 Visa rejected after being invited

[lynney45]

Hi all, my 190 visa was rejected for Victoria yesterday. I sent an EOI and received an invitation for state sponsorship. I awaited 2 months and they got back to me with a rejection. 

I had high points, 80 in total. I am a software tester in the uk with 6 years experience. I applied through an immigration agent and everything in my application was honest and complete. They rejection was just a generic rejection. 

I am wondering if it is worth appealing due to Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT)?

Can you please advise if it is worth lodging an appeal?

Please see generic rejection below...



"Following a review of the application, we regret to inform you that your client has not been selected for visa nomination by the Victorian Government.



Your client’s application for Victorian Government state nomination was reviewed individually and assessed with a focus on their ability to address a number of criteria, including:



§ ability to meet the minimum eligibility criteria,



§ demand for particular skills and expertise, and ability to find work in Victoria,



§ the suitability and transferability of qualifications, skills and experience – including any specialist capabilities – to the needs of Victoria’s labour market,



§ ability and commitment to establishing themselves, and any dependents, in Victoria



§ the number of nomination applications received relative to the number of nomination places available for the occupation.



Victoria receives a high number of very strong applications for state nomination and only the very highest calibre candidates with the strongest skills, experience and opportunity for finding work in Victoria’s labour market are selected for Victorian state nomination.



The Victorian Government uses independent industry panels to provide advice on the suitability of applicants to Victoria’s labour market. These industry representatives also provide advice on the demand for individual applicants’ qualifications, skills and experience, and prospects for employment in Victoria. 



While your client’s application demonstrated their ability to meet the minimum eligibility requirements for Victorian state nomination, other applicants were able to more adequately demonstrate their suitability for employment in Victoria.



Your client is entitled to reapply for Victorian Government nomination six months after the date of this email, provided the occupation remains on Victoria’s occupation list, and your client meets any other relevant criteria. See our website for further information on nomination requirements: LiveInVictoria.vic.gov.au."

[VERYSTORMY]

What has your agent advised? 

I don't believe you can appeal sponsorship refusal. 

There seems to be a lot of refusals from Vic at the moment. 

[horsemad1976]

80 points is high for a rejection I am interested to know the breakdown of your points for only 6 years experience if you are willing to share?

[lynney45]

I just heard back from my agent today she said this:

"These appeals deal with visa refusals - you do not have this as you have not applied for a visa.  You have a refusal with the Victorian government and there is no appeal process."

So basically because i was refused from state sponsorship i am not eligible to lodge an appeal, i would only be eligible to lodge an appeal if i was rejected from for the visa application by DIBP.

I am shocked at how difficult it is to get approved for Victoria, my break down is as follows:

6 years Software Testing experience in the IT industry in the UK for several major companies, including test automation experience

2 first class degrees (BSc IT, MSc Computing & Information Systems)

PTE Academic Level English 

Maximum points for age (32)

Points would also have been attained for state sponsorship

I can't remember to hand the points allocation for each of the above as i am in work at the minute, but they total 80 points, the PTE academic gets you 20 points by the way Horsemad, this made a significant difference to differentiate me in the high points category. 

 

 

[lynney45]

I have received an invite from South Australia also after submitting my EOI there.  I wanted to hear the decision from Victoria first though.  Applying to SA is a last resort, but i don't have any other choice at this point.  It is disappointing as i have to incur thousands of pounds worth of costs all over again for a state sponsorship application with SA.  I also had a look on seek.com.au and there are less than a handful of jobs for my occupation in the entire state.  If i am approved for the 489 visa with SA i will have to take a significant step back in my career for 2 years by the looks of things until i can transition to an 887 visa and move to Brisbane, Sydney, or Melbourne at that point to get my career back on track.  A lot of sacrifices will need to be made by the looks of things, i feel quite apprehensive about the 489 visa in SA.

[Nemesis]

47 minutes ago, lynney45 said:

I just heard back from my agent today she said this:

"These appeals deal with visa refusals - you do not have this as you have not applied for a visa.  You have a refusal with the Victorian government and there is no appeal process."

So basically because i was refused from state sponsorship i am not eligible to lodge an appeal, i would only be eligible to lodge an appeal if i was rejected from for the visa application by DIBP.

I am shocked at how difficult it is to get approved for Victoria, my break down is as follows:

6 years Software Testing experience in the IT industry in the UK for several major companies, including test automation experience

2 first class degrees (BSc IT, MSc Computing & Information Systems)

PTE Academic Level English 

Maximum points for age (32)

Points would also have been attained for state sponsorship

I can't remember to hand the points allocation for each of the above as i am in work at the minute, but they total 80 points, the PTE academic gets you 20 points by the way Horsemad, this made a significant difference to differentiate me in the high points category. 

 

 

Victoria has always been difficult when it comes to gaining State Sponsorship They do not base decisions on points, but on your level of commitment to the state. If they see you are currently living and working in another state, or all your family live in another state, or you display a total lack of knowledge or enthusiasm for life in Victoria then they are unlikely to accept you. They want migrants who will be loyal and stay committed to the State. 

[VERYSTORMY]

2 hours ago, lynney45 said:

I have received an invite from South Australia also after submitting my EOI there.  I wanted to hear the decision from Victoria first though.  Applying to SA is a last resort, but i don't have any other choice at this point.  It is disappointing as i have to incur thousands of pounds worth of costs all over again for a state sponsorship application with SA.  I also had a look on seek.com.au and there are less than a handful of jobs for my occupation in the entire state.  If i am approved for the 489 visa with SA i will have to take a significant step back in my career for 2 years by the looks of things until i can transition to an 887 visa and move to Brisbane, Sydney, or Melbourne at that point to get my career back on track.  A lot of sacrifices will need to be made by the looks of things, i feel quite apprehensive about the 489 visa in SA.

Be aware, if SA discover you have applied for Vic, which they often do, they will cancel your state sponsorship. 

[lynney45]

Thanks for the heads up.  My migration has informed them, and vice versa for Vic, you are asked when applying 'Have you applied to any other states'.  I can imagine this didn't help in my application with Vic.  However i will lose 5 points in 6 months time when i turn 33 and this won't cut it with SA as i can only apply in the high points category.  So i had to lodge two applications simultaneously, with Vic being my first preference and SA as a last resort, so now i need to proceed with SA it seems as Vic have closed the door.

[lynney45]

7 minutes ago, VERYSTORMY said:

Be aware, if SA discover you have applied for Vic, which they often do, they will cancel your state sponsorship. 

To clarify, my agent informed SA that i had applied with Vic at EOI, and SA still invited me to apply for state sponsorship