Category 5 News

[Guest Violet S]

Hi Mylady,

 

I will say this persistent not nagging. We just have to show them that how much we love their country and really want to be there to build the country. :-)

 

I don't have a CO even though my submission date was slightly earlier than yours, 5/8/09. If I have, I will follow your footstep and be as persistent as possible.

 

Now, I only can pray and wait.

 

Thanks for sharing with me. God bless you and your family in the new land.

 

Take care and God bless.

Violet

[Taz2008]

I beleive most of you already know that I have recently written to David Wilden (the Regional Director for Europe at the Australia House in London, dealing with Immigration) in connection with the Category 5 processing situation. I have today received a response from David and have posted it on the thread 176 ss non csl - where are you now; http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/migration-issues/70633-176-ss-non-csl-where-you-now-314.html#post748227

 

For your information and for those who may have missed the thread, I will also post my email and his response here too...

 

Email sent to David Wilden 8/4/10

EMAIL SENT: 08/04/10

 

Dear Mr Wilden

 

I have been asked to write to you by Gill (Gollywobbler) the Moderator from Poms in Oz. It has come to our attention that many of the forum members are getting frustrated about the processing order of the Category 5 group and are now pressurising her for your contact details.

 

The reason Gill has asked me to write to you is that I have been running a thread for the Category 5 people (SS non- csl) since the September changes occurred. I now have over 250 PiO members subscribed to this thread, which is growing daily, and am aware of the issues people have been raising. Here is the link to that thread for your information; http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/migration-issues/70633-176-ss-non-csl-where-you-now.html - If you read the 1st post on page 1 you can see the details of recent visas and further below the list of every member subscribed in date order of their original application from 2007 through to 2010.

 

As I mentioned previously, there are many members now contacting Gill and myself expressing their concerns that, although they are thankful the Category 5 visas are being processed, they are not being processed in any particular order. Some are now becoming very angry with the situation as people who lodged after them are being allocated Case Officers, as they took a chance to frontload their meds without being requested. It was noted, after the November meeting, that you had suggested the processing of applications would be in date order of original application, but this clearly is not happening.

 

As I say, many members are feeling very angry and anxious seeing applicants being allocated a Case Officer or being granted their visa to those who applied after them. In some cases, these people have received their visa within 5, 6 or 7 months of lodging, whilst others have been waiting patiently for over a year and in some cases two years. This is totally unjust. Now many people are saying that they are sending PLE’s to the DIAC and also wanting to write to you asking when their application is going to be processed and to see if you can help.

 

Poms in Oz and its members are all extremely thankful for all the help and information you have provided and want to keep your continued support. Therefore, in light of the recent frustrations and negativity on the forum, Gill has arranged for your email to be blocked and she has also stopped giving your contact details out, through fear of more and more people bombarding you with emails asking you to help their case.

 

It seems to me that people just want to know what the logic is behind the order of processing; they see others in the same situation being granted and their own self being left behind and, quite rightly, feel that this is unfair. So many members are in fear that their application will be the one that is not looked at before 2012.

 

Therefore, I am kindly asking, on behalf of the Poms in Oz members, would it be possible for you to speak to the ASPC on our behalf and find out the following for us;

 

1)What is the logic behind the processing order, for example, will they at some point start processing in date order of original application?

 

2)Is there an aim to finalise all State Sponsored applications (non-csl) before the end of June?

 

3)If it is not possible to finalise all Cat 5 applications, what is the quota remaining for this year?

 

4)Will Cat 5 continue to be processed in the next immigration year if not completed before the end of June?

 

If you are able to find out the answers to the above, I would then be able to post the information onto the thread/forum, which will then ease peoples concerns and frustrations.

 

I appreciate the time you have taken to read my email, and hope you agree that this is a better way forward than letting the angry members of PiO bombard you with emails and the DIAC with constant PLE’s.

 

I eagerly await your reply.

 

Many thanks and kind regards,

 

Natasha (Taz2008)

 

____________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

28/04/10 Response from David Wilden

EMAIL RECEIVED: 28/04/10

 

 

Apologies for the delays in getting back to you but we have had a few things on that have tied me up a fair bit over recent weeks. I have had a chance to look in more detail at your request and can provide the following in answers to your questions.

 

1) What is the logic behind the processing order, for example, will they at some point start processing in date order of original application?

 

 

 

I have previously advised that the processing within the Category 5 priority group has been done primarily on a date of application basis, but with consideration given to the circumstances of individuals. Teams review the individual cases based on the priority processing order. From this point forward there are a range of variables that come into play for the teams and individual case officers as well as those that are particular to a specific application. These include

 

• composition of the caseload for the team and individual officers
• need for further evidence/information
  
• family composition which may involve new babies, delaying medicals or resolution of custody issues
  
• skills recognition,
  
• whether they are from a defined high or low risk country
  
• clearance processes from other agencies
  
• timing of State sponsorship
  

Over the last year we have taken into account cases where an application was queued and if it meant they would miss their IED and have to re-do medicals or police checks they have been decided. This is not a blanket policy and indeed I have seen some reports from people on your site that chose to front load medicals and they have now expired. I would strongly advise against taking any actions without being requested by a case officer.

 

As well as the issues that apply to individual cases, the allocation of new applications to teams in Adelaide, the composition of the caseloads for both teams and individual case officers and the speed of decision making within the teams (due to the issues listed above) will all impact on timeframes. It is not possible to have a completely linear process so that applying on date A, means a decision on date B. This is not new - there has always been variations in the speed of processing even before the changes of the last 12 months.

 

Service standards are published and are indicative only due to the various factors that can impact. Of interest, the majority of people assessed this year down to category 5 have been well within service standards. Since last September the Department has advised the possible processing times will be significantly longer for the lower categories. The current indicative wait times may vary up or down depending on program numbers and application rates over the coming years so predicting when an application may be decided based on the large number of variables would be no more than a guess.

 

2) Is there an aim to finalise all State Sponsored applications (non-csl) before the end of June?

 

Consistent with the intent of priority processing, as applications in the highest priority categories are lodged they take precedence over those in lower categories. Accordingly, it is impossible to say whether all State sponsored applications will be processed before June. There is no specific plan to finish any particular category by a specific date. The Department will continue to process applications as they come in based on the current processing priorities.

 

3) If it is not possible to finalise all Cat 5 applications, what is the quota remaining for this year?

 

There is no quota for Category 5. I can only repeat that applications are processed based on their priority under the current Ministerial Direction until the program numbers for the year are met.

 

4) Will Cat 5 continue to be processed in the next immigration year if not completed before the end of June?

 

Category 5 will continue to be processed based on the current Ministerial directive on processing priorities. As we have seen this year, once the higher categories have been processed, Category 5 will be done. As you know we will be seeing next years processing adopting the new Skilled Occupation List and State Migration Plans. Until these are in place it would premature to provide any comment on the impact of these changes on Category 5 for next program year.

 

Another factor currently that has been reported on the POI site is that we are currently undergoing some fairly significant restructuring of the Department at the moment. As we reach certain points in this process there can be impacts on the number of cases being decided. Also, as we approach the end of the program year, the department has to ensure that it meets the specific targets of the program. This can lead to potential slow down, or acceleration of decisions the closer to 30 June we get.

 

While I can appreciate the frustrations people feel when they consider they are not being treated equitably, there are many factors involved in individuals cases that impact on when and where cases are able to be finalised. The department's starting point in assessing applications is to process them by date of application but this will be impacted as outlined in my answer to your first question. While I am sure you are hoping for more certainty for POI members, it is unfortunately not a simple, linear process with so many variables involved.

 

Kind Regards

 

 

David Wilden

Minister - Counsellor (Immigration)

Regional Director Europe

[Taz2008]

With regards to the above, which I have just posted, I am now going to create a new thread on the forum whereby you can all leave your thoughts and comments.

 

This way, all the comments will be posted in one place and maybe useful at a later date if we need to contact David about any issues.

 

http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/migration-issues/84924-category-5-further-information-provided-processing-open-discussion.html#post748266

 

Thanks

 

Tasha

[dhani24dhani]

very good effort i thank to pomsinoz.com Dhani right now from India.

[Guest archanabose]

please explain me what is category 5

my husband has applied for 457 visa on 16 feb 2010,and visa stll not granted.

[Proview220]

please explain me what is category 5

my husband has applied for 457 visa on 16 feb 2010,and visa stll not granted.

 

Category 5

Applications from people who are nominated by a State/Territory government agency whose nominated occupation is not listed on the CSL.

 

hope this helps

 

proview

[clickettuk]

I heard from the ACT last week who said they hope to have their State Migration Plan agreed by 1st July. They intend to include both the Baseline and Quota list in the SMP but expect DIAC to argue every occupation so we won't know the final outcome until July!

[Guest hoping29]

Hi All

 

At the meeting with David Wilden at Australia House today, we were told as follows:

 

All the applications in hand from people in Categories 1 - 4 as listed in the FAQ of 23rd September 2009 are now under control.

 

DIAC estimate that there are about 3,500 applications in Category 5 - that is, State sponsored but the main applicant's occupation is not on the CSL. Mr Wilden has been told that DIAC are now in a position to make a start on processing the Cat 5 applications.

 

 

 

 

Mr Wilden said as follows:

 

• Roughly 3,500 is the number of actual visa applications, not the number of people involved. (I checked this with him specifically and he was definite about it.)

• They will start to process the Cat 5s according to the dates when the visa applications were lodged and they will deal with the oldest applications first.

• They will make no distinctions between the different visa subclasses - first come, first served means what it implies in a situation where the occupation is not on the CSL but the applicant does have State sponsorship.

• There is no foundation to the rumour that tradies may be excluded from Cat 5 processing - the tradies are to be treated identically to people whose occupations are in ASCO Groups 1-3.

Mr Wilden said that we have had him up late at night and out of bed before the birds in order to phone his colleagues in Australia to discover exactly what the plans are for the Category 5s because he had seen from Poms in Oz that everyone is particularly worried about this question in particular.

 

Mr WIlden stressed that he cannot say how long it will take to clear the backlog of about 3,500 Cat 5 applications. As & when they receive further applications from people with greater claim to priority, the applications with greater priority will be dealt with first.

 

The Famous Five were all PiO members (DanB1, Floater, Gollywobbler, RonnieRocket and Watneyni to put us in alphabetical order.) We were all sitting round the same table with Mr Wilden and we all heard him say exactly the same things. (Needless to say we repaired to a London hostelry afterwards to compare notes - thanks very much indeed to Watneyni for very kindly buying a round of drinks for us all.)

 

We were joined unexpectedly by a very helpful young man called Andrew. He has worked at the ASPC for a while but he is now in the UK, working with John Adams RMA at Immigration2Oz.com Andrew is not a PiO member [yet] but I am trying to encourage him/twist his arm! Andrew was involved with this part of the discussion so he heard Mr Wilden as well.

 

That they can't say how long it will take to clear the 3,500 or so Cat 5 applications is reasonable enough. Mr Wilden promised to find out how many of the 108,100 skilled PR & Provisional visas for 2009/10 have been granted as at 30th November 2009 and he said he will let us know as soon as he knows. Once we have that figure it will probably be possible to start making reasonably sensible guesses.

 

After the meeting the Famous Five agreed that this information is probably the most significant piece of info from today and that we would get it onto the forum with all possible speed, in its own thread to make it stand out.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

Hi, my husband is currently working at W.A. as a auto technician its a well known company brand we are second dependant,March 9,2010- Application recived processing commenced, Application fee recieved. April 27,2010- Application being processed further, Health requirements finalised, what does it mean? Are we going to wait much,much longer? Its been 3 months now? please enlighted me, thanks.:smile:...

[Guest Gollywobbler]

Hi, my husband is currently working at W.A. as a auto technician its a well known company brand we are second dependant,March 9,2010- Application recived processing commenced, Application fee recieved. April 27,2010- Application being processed further, Health requirements finalised, what does it mean? Are we going to wait much,much longer? Its been 3 months now? please enlighted me, thanks.:smile:...

 

Hi there

 

Welcome to Poms in Oz.

 

1. Which visa does your husband hold at the moment, please?

 

2. Which visa has he applied for?

 

David Wilden was talking about skilled independent visas. You seem to be describing employer=sponsored visas, probably?

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[Guest hoping29]

Hi there

 

Welcome to Poms in Oz.

 

1. Which visa does your husband hold at the moment, please?

 

2. Which visa has he applied for?

 

David Wilden was talking about skilled independent visas. You seem to be describing employer=sponsored visas, probably?

 

Cheers

 

Gill

Hi thank u very much for your response, yes employer sponsored visa( 457 visa ) he"s currently working at Perth City- Northam WA as a auto technician 1 of the most well brand car company. So what u think about the status of our visa application?:idea:...

[cazhoney]

Tic-tac, tic-tac...

 

Counting days to July....:goofy:

[Guest juandelacruz]

Tic-tac, tic-tac...

 

Counting days to July....:goofy:

 

hi cazhoney

 

When did you lodge your SS application? i lodged 475 last january 2010 and feels very anxious about it. :wideeyed:

[cazhoney]

Hello juandelacruz,

 

I asked for SS on January 29th, and received it 5 days later.

[cazhoney]

Originally my application was for a 175 visa, I have lodged it on June 11th 2009.

[Guest jupiter123]

Hi there

 

Welcome to Poms in Oz.

 

1. Which visa does your husband hold at the moment, please?

 

2. Which visa has he applied for?

 

David Wilden was talking about skilled independent visas. You seem to be describing employer=sponsored visas, probably?

 

Cheers

 

Hi Gollywobbler,

 

Please find our details below and provide your valuable comments :

Ours is 475 application(Cat 5),my wife being the primary applicant( Job :

Management Consultant no longer in current SOL,not in CSL).Application date :

May'2008, had CO sometime in Sept'2008,medicals PCC done during that time,due

to some medical complication my wife was asked to redo medicals which was done

and sent to them on time and its still showing Referred.During July'2009,they also

asked for wife's Specific Work Evidence and post that there was no update due to

the changes in Sept 23,2009.My medicals were finalised in Aug 2009.Suddenly in

March 10,2010 I saw an update stating that the specific work experience has been

received even though we sent it last year during April'2009.

Our overall status now, I'm assuming my medicals have already expired since it was

finalised in April 2009.Our PCC was done in Aug 2008,which is also expired I

think.But seeing that there was a sudden update stating ' Received' for Specific

Work Evidence in March'2010.Does that throw any ray of hope to our

application?Any thoughts on that.

All others shows Met except for :

26/05/2008 Application received - processing commenced

23/04/2009 Application being processed further

05/03/2010 Evidence of Specific Work Experience Received

23/04/2009 Form 815 Health Undertaking(For primary applicant and already sent

long back) Requested

23/04/2009 Form 47P - Overseas penal clearance certificate(For Dependant and

sent long back) Requested

We called DIAC and came to know that our case is still with some case officer.No

clues when we would get any response from them.

[Guest hoping29]

Hi All

 

At the meeting with David Wilden at Australia House today, we were told as follows:

 

All the applications in hand from people in Categories 1 - 4 as listed in the FAQ of 23rd September 2009 are now under control.

 

DIAC estimate that there are about 3,500 applications in Category 5 - that is, State sponsored but the main applicant's occupation is not on the CSL. Mr Wilden has been told that DIAC are now in a position to make a start on processing the Cat 5 applications.

 

 

 

 

Mr Wilden said as follows:

 

• Roughly 3,500 is the number of actual visa applications, not the number of people involved. (I checked this with him specifically and he was definite about it.)

• They will start to process the Cat 5s according to the dates when the visa applications were lodged and they will deal with the oldest applications first.

• They will make no distinctions between the different visa subclasses - first come, first served means what it implies in a situation where the occupation is not on the CSL but the applicant does have State sponsorship.

• There is no foundation to the rumour that tradies may be excluded from Cat 5 processing - the tradies are to be treated identically to people whose occupations are in ASCO Groups 1-3.

Mr Wilden said that we have had him up late at night and out of bed before the birds in order to phone his colleagues in Australia to discover exactly what the plans are for the Category 5s because he had seen from Poms in Oz that everyone is particularly worried about this question in particular.

 

Mr WIlden stressed that he cannot say how long it will take to clear the backlog of about 3,500 Cat 5 applications. As & when they receive further applications from people with greater claim to priority, the applications with greater priority will be dealt with first.

 

The Famous Five were all PiO members (DanB1, Floater, Gollywobbler, RonnieRocket and Watneyni to put us in alphabetical order.) We were all sitting round the same table with Mr Wilden and we all heard him say exactly the same things. (Needless to say we repaired to a London hostelry afterwards to compare notes - thanks very much indeed to Watneyni for very kindly buying a round of drinks for us all.)

 

We were joined unexpectedly by a very helpful young man called Andrew. He has worked at the ASPC for a while but he is now in the UK, working with John Adams RMA at Immigration2Oz.com Andrew is not a PiO member [yet] but I am trying to encourage him/twist his arm! Andrew was involved with this part of the discussion so he heard Mr Wilden as well.

 

That they can't say how long it will take to clear the 3,500 or so Cat 5 applications is reasonable enough. Mr Wilden promised to find out how many of the 108,100 skilled PR & Provisional visas for 2009/10 have been granted as at 30th November 2009 and he said he will let us know as soon as he knows. Once we have that figure it will probably be possible to start making reasonably sensible guesses.

 

After the meeting the Famous Five agreed that this information is probably the most significant piece of info from today and that we would get it onto the forum with all possible speed, in its own thread to make it stand out.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

Hi, we are 457 Business Long Stay Dependant, our papers have been lodged on March 9,2010/ April 27,2010- Health requirements finalised, Application being processed further what does it means?

[Guest hoping29]

Hi there

 

Welcome to Poms in Oz.

 

1. Which visa does your husband hold at the moment, please?

 

2. Which visa has he applied for?

 

David Wilden was talking about skilled independent visas. You seem to be describing employer=sponsored visas, probably?

 

Cheers

 

Gill

Hi, were from the Philippines were 457 Business Long Stay Dependant my husband is currently working at Perth City as a auto technician, our papers have been lodged on March 9,2010, Application recieved processing commenced, Application fee recieved. April 27,2010- Health requirements finalised, Application being process further what does it means? thanks. :idea::idea::idea:...

[Guest dream]

Hi gill,

i have lodged 475 visa in june 2009. medicals finalised.all docs sent including spouses IELTS score. Mine it is 7.5 and wifes it is 5.5. well, now my wife is pregnant.

1) is there any possibility of visa grant?

2)since my wife is pregnant do i need to react ,inform them or wait till you get certain indication of visa being processed and inform that time?

3) is there any provision for refund if i want to refund?

[Guest Bob2008]

Hi gill,

i have lodged 475 visa in june 2009. medicals finalised.all docs sent including spouses IELTS score. Mine it is 7.5 and wifes it is 5.5. well, now my wife is pregnant.

1) is there any possibility of visa grant?

2)since my wife is pregnant do i need to react ,inform them or wait till you get certain indication of visa being processed and inform that time?

3) is there any provision for refund if i want to refund?

 

Gill probably knows this better, but

3. I haven't heard of DIAC refunds except with Cap-n-cease.

1&2. I think you need to inform them only when your immigrating family grows bigger.

 

The big question is are you ready to move to Oz if your wife is pregnant (depends solely on you). You may need to be ready to cover costs of it by yourself, as you will not have Medicare on 475th and the private insurance may not cover this condition because of 1yr moratorium. If you already have a child to the time when you move, it might be interesting too. Though I think you may be eligible to receive some benefits until you get your first job in Oz.

IMHO. Correct me please if I am mistaken.

 

Yeah, another issue is an airplane ticket. Every air carrier has its own rules on pregnant passengers. Some of them do not sell you tickets if your term is more than 6 - 7 months.

[Guest dream]

Gill probably knows this better, but

3. I haven't heard of DIAC refunds except with Cap-n-cease.

1&2. I think you need to inform them only when your immigrating family grows bigger.

 

The big question is are you ready to move to Oz if your wife is pregnant (depends solely on you). You may need to be ready to cover costs of it by yourself, as you will not have Medicare on 475th and the private insurance may not cover this condition because of 1yr moratorium. If you already have a child to the time when you move, it might be interesting too. Though I think you may be eligible to receive some benefits until you get your first job in Oz.

IMHO. Correct me please if I am mistaken.

 

Yeah, another issue is an airplane ticket. Every air carrier has its own rules on pregnant passengers. Some of them do not sell you tickets if your term is more than 6 - 7 months.

Thank you Bob,

My point is, is it correct on my part to inform my dormant agent regarding my wife being pregnant? or shall I wait and let the events unfold? Is it necessary for me to inform the agent so that the change of condition is communicated to my CO.

pLEASE SHED SOME MORE LIGHT ON THIS POINT.

[Guest Bob2008]

Thank you Bob,

My point is, is it correct on my part to inform my dormant agent regarding my wife being pregnant? or shall I wait and let the events unfold? Is it necessary for me to inform the agent so that the change of condition is communicated to my CO.

pLEASE SHED SOME MORE LIGHT ON THIS POINT.

If you use an agent then it is worth to inform them usually. Usually they know if it is necessary to inform CO of the change, and will do so appropriately. Won't hurt.

 

And there is absolutely no reason to panic about it. :wink: Just to rejoice :biggrin:

[Guest dream]

If you use an agent then it is worth to inform them usually. Usually they know if it is necessary to inform CO of the change, and will do so appropriately. Won't hurt.

 

And there is absolutely no reason to panic about it. :wink: Just to rejoice :biggrin:

 

Thanks a lot. so nice of you Bob for this advice, but i m in a fence, whether the visa will be granted at all. I an SA sponsored, VETASSESS Passed, good IELTS, BOTANIST/BIOCHEMIST, and presently working.

This wait is crazy, so just wanted to share with your goodself. Any opinion regarding this?

thank u so much

[Guest Bob2008]

Thanks a lot. so nice of you Bob for this advice, but i m in a fence, whether the visa will be granted at all. I an SA sponsored, VETASSESS Passed, good IELTS, BOTANIST/BIOCHEMIST, and presently working.

This wait is crazy, so just wanted to share with your goodself. Any opinion regarding this?

thank u so much

 

It depends. If you are offshore, there's nothing you can do but rest and wait. If you are onshore, then maybe it is time to act. However I am not strong in Botanist / Biochemist area. Maybe someone else can give you advice then.

 

I guess they are in the sponsored list (Schedule 4) in the recently published amendments. So we will see shortly what kind of arrangements DIAC is preparing for those who are not in Schedule 3 but in Schedule 4. Right now I think no one dares to suppose on how it's going to work. We'll see :biggrin:

[Guest reddragon81]

This is what I have read in another topic of this forum

 

The next few months could represent a window for category 5 applicants. The SMPs are a month away from being published, and it's going to take another month or two for nomination requests to be processed.

 

 

If the CSL remains in use as a priority mechanism past this week then it won't take too long to clear the remaining Category 3 and 4 applications, before starting on Category 5. My guess is that this is what's going to happen.

 

If it doesn't then Category 5 will be top of the pile from next week onwards.

 

Unless, of course, DIAC shut up shop for the next two or three months...

 

Now I have a very tricky logic question:

Andrew, Brandon, Clementine, Donald and Eric all have the same profession (non CSL, category 5)

- Andrew applied for a 175 in October 2009, applied for a SS in November, received a SS on the 1st of December 2009 and converted his 175 application into a 176 on the same day.

- Brandond received his SS on the 1st of November 2009 and applied for a 176 on the 1st of December 2009

- Clementine applied for a 176 on the 1st of November 2009 and received her SS on the 1st of December 2009

- Donald received his SS on the 1st of November 2009 and applied for a 176 on the 15th of November 2009

- Eric applied for a 176 on the 1st of November 2009 and received her SS on the 15ht of November 2009

 

In what chronological order should they theoretically receive their PR (or be assigned a CO if you prefer)?

[Guest indaussie]

This is what I have read in another topic of this forum

 

 

 

Now I have a very tricky logic question:

Andrew, Brandon, Clementine, Donald and Eric all have the same profession (non CSL, category 5)

- Andrew applied for a 175 in October 2009, applied for a SS in November, received a SS on the 1st of December 2009 and converted his 175 application into a 176 on the same day.

- Brandond received his SS on the 1st of November 2009 and applied for a 176 on the 1st of December 2009

- Clementine applied for a 176 on the 1st of November 2009 and received her SS on the 1st of December 2009

- Donald received his SS on the 1st of November 2009 and applied for a 176 on the 15th of November 2009

- Eric applied for a 176 on the 1st of November 2009 and received her SS on the 15ht of November 2009

 

In what chronological order are they going to receive their PR?

 

No one knows ,.. Neither me Nor DIAC.