# 189 Visa Refusal



## SeanJ79 (Nov 1, 2016)

Dear community,

I received a big blow today in the form of an email which said my 189 Visa application has been refused.

The officer gave two reasons. Here they are briefly:

1. My skills assessment outcome came at a later date than that of the EOI invitation. (I had applied for the EA skills assessment a month before lodging the EOI and thought that the receipt/intention to submit Skills Assessment would suffice.

But since the outcome (successful) of the skills assessment came at a later date than my EOI invitation, my visa application has been refused.

2. Clause 189.311 has not been
met by the applicant on the date I made my decision. This provision states that:
*189.311*
_The applicant:
(a) is a member of the family unit of a person who holds a Subclass 189 visa granted on the
basis of satisfying the primary criteria for the grant of the visa; and
(b) made a combined application with that person._

Now I don't understand what this second reason means because I do not have a spouse/partner/defacto partner etc. I went back to my visa and EOI application review PDFs to check whether I have made an error but I am unable to find any mistakes or issues which I might have overlooked [of course, apart from having my skills assessment ready before the EOI invitation  ]

I understand that there is no point in me appealing because these are valid reasons for refusal. I felt it was so brutal but now I realize I should have been much more careful like consulting at least once before submitting the applications with a migration officer. And I hate myself for it; time wasted, extra stressed, and AUD3000 down the drain.

Can someone kindly tell me what I can do next as I am on a bridging visa:

1.Can I apply for an EOI again? I feel the chances of getting it within 28 days is relatively low. (I got my first initial invitation within 2 weeks). Ive got 60 pts and all the documents are ready now.

2. When lodging a new 189 application potentially from overseas, would my first visa refusal be very influential since I have to declare it somewhere in one of the forms?

3. Could there be any other mistakes or errors in my first application apart from the ones the officer mentioned in the refusal letter? Or are those 2 reasons just the only ones?

I apologize for my lengthy essay. Really hope to get some answers and hopefully deter current or future applicants in similar circumstances making the same mistakes that I did. Thank you.

Sean


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## Maggie-May24 (Jul 24, 2011)

1. Yes, you can apply for an EOI again and hopefully it wouldn't have too much delay.
2. They'd likely look at your previous application, but since it was due to a fairly simple reason (for example, it wasn't because you provided false documents, etc.) I don't think it would have too much impact.
3. It's possible if they didn't review your full application after noticing the date discrepancy, so it may be worthwhile arranging a consultation with a migration agent to put your mind at ease.


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## SeanJ79 (Nov 1, 2016)

Thank you Maggie. Its going to be another hectic period of time going through the whole process again start to end.


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## ericntd (Mar 11, 2017)

The same incident just happened to me.
I don't think the 2nd point means anything at all.

The only problem here is the date in your skill assessment result.

Anyone know how we can contact the immigration office?
I believe it's just a misunderstanding my case.

In my case, only in February 2017 my work experience reached 5 years. Therefore, I only submitted my skill assessment application in February 2017 and the result was available on 14th March 2017.

However, the express entry system automatically invited me on 1st March 2017 (it's not under my control).
This caused my skill assessment to be considered invalid by the immigration officer.
This is really a misunderstanding.
There is no way I could possibly obtained the letter from ACS before 1 March 2017.
Also, the letter states that my experience was counted up to February 2017 which is before 1 March 2017.


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## CCMS (Oct 10, 2013)

ericntd said:


> I only submitted my skill assessment application in February 2017 and the result was available on 14th March 2017.
> 
> However, the express entry system automatically invited me on 1st March 2017 (it's not under my control).
> This caused my skill assessment to be considered invalid by the immigration officer.
> ...


I just don't get it. People will spend thousands on a DIY application and then continue to make such basic ,and totally avoidable, mistakes, because they do not want to spend any money on professional advice.

Even the DIBP website states clearly that for a sc. 189 visa you must have :

"a suitable skills assessment for that occupation at the time you are invited to apply for the visa".

It would therefore be extremely foolish to lodge an EoI without having a positive skills assessment in place.

I feel sorry for you, but at the same time I just do not understand why people are happy to risk donating thousands of dollars to the Australian government, but think that getting professional advice is somehow a waste of money.


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## LadyRogueRayne (Aug 17, 2015)

And correct me if I'm wrong, but now that the OP has had a refusal, they will be held to Section 48...meaning that they cannot lodge another 189 visa onshore. The OP stated they are on a bridging visa at this time. Therefore, in order to lodge another visa application (except in specific circumstances/certain visas), the OP will have to go offshore and apply, or go offshore and return on a different visa that does not have 8503 attached in order to apply onshore for the 189 visa again. 

I recommend you arrange a consultation with a MARA agent. You will need to go offshore to apply again.


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## CCMS (Oct 10, 2013)

LadyRogueRayne said:


> And correct me if I'm wrong, but now that the OP has had a refusal, they will be held to Section 48....


Yes, if the application was lodged in Australia, the OP will be subject to s.48. Another avoidable complication. I come across a lot of cases like this with very basic mistakes and I wonder why people do it. I wouldn't dream of putting in a complicated tax return without using an accountant.


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## Mish (Jan 13, 2013)

CCMS said:


> I wouldn't dream of putting in a complicated tax return without using an accountant.


Exactly! Unless you want the "you are being audited by the ATO" phone call


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