175 Vs 176 & Minimum Funds requirement

[Guest DDTV]

My Fiance and I are now in a position of getting funds together in order to apply for our Australian residency :jiggy:

We have been following the developments last week with regard to the change in DIAMA prioritising system and the cull in numbers of visa applications being granted. We suspect that immigration may become more difficult in forthcoming months so we are really keen to get the ball rolling so we don't miss out.

 

To that affect we have a few concerns regarding the following:

 

 

 

• Last week's event's seem to suggest that the 176 State Sponsored (permanent) seems to be the golden option now due to the massive backlog of 175 visa applications. Is this true?
  

 

 

 

• If we opted for a 176 State Sponsored (and equally if we went with the 175 visa) do we need to prove a minimum funds requirement to the Australian government? Our initial research suggests that Western Australia for example require at least $30,000 for re-settlement. As we are a young couple who has intentionally not stepped onto the property ladder in the hope of building our life in Australia, raising these funds could prove almost impossible. Is there any way around this?
  

 

 

 

• If we opted to change to a 176 for the possibility of faster processing we would really like the best possible chance of the permanent state sponsored visa rather than the temporary regional visa. As Alison is a secondary school English teacher, would there be any states (other than NT or ACT) that we would be eligible for State Sponsored 176 permanent visa?
  

 

Bearing the above in mind, would anyone suggest that the 175 visa or the 176 visa would be the best foot forward in our circumstances? We are particularly attracted to the fact that there might be less margin for failure on the application if only Alison's skills were tested rather than mine also (as mine is an obscure job description to say the least!). I believe Alison would total the required 115 points without my skills being assessed.

[karlom]

Hi ya

 

I cant answer many (or any!) of your questions but to say that I really feel that that 176 is the way to go if you can get it. I think the 175 will get harder and take a longer and longer waiting period.

 

We are dead set on a 175 and going to Melb in the next year or so but on the advise of our agent we are going for NSW 176 so as to ensure we actually get into Australia (anywhere!).

 

I would far perfer to be in Sydney dreaming of Melbourne than in Ireland in the rain dreaming of Australia!

 

cheers

 

Karl